58: Echoes of Ambition

The dressing room was a mix of tension and anticipation. Every eye was on the clock, ticking down the minutes before they would take the field. Liam sat in a corner, lacing up his boots with deliberate care. The voices of his teammates hummed around him, their excitement palpable, but his mind was elsewhere, lost in the whirlpool of thoughts that had been haunting him since the last match.

He felt the weight of his role growing heavier with each passing day. At 24, he was no longer the young, up-and-coming talent; he was now expected to lead, to inspire, and to carry the hopes of an entire team on his shoulders. FC Barcelona-B had been a stepping stone, but the expectations were changing, and with that, so was Liam.