Rise of a Football God

(Name: Samuel Moses)

(No. 40)

(Venue: Spotify Camp Nou)

(Opponent: Brest)

(Competition: UEFA Champions League)

(Date: October 1st, 2025)

(Game in numbers:)

90% passing accuracy

3 fouls won

4 goal-scoring chances created

3 of 4 aerial balls won successfully.

3 goals

(Rating: 9.4)

(MOTM)

Originally, FC Barcelona fans were supposed to be mourning the unfortunate injury that befell their starting striker in Robert Lewandowski, but the frenzy caused by Sam's performance overshadowed Lewandowski's injury.

The game was simply that good, it was an unforgettable UEFA champions league debut for the young Nigerian.

It was an almost perfect display.

During the 26 minutes that Lewandowski was on the pitch, as an attacking midfielder, Sam had a good game but from just a good game, his game transformed into an unbelievable one after taking on the false 9 role.

Today, as a false 9, he was FC Barcelona's best player on the pitch and it was not even close as he put in an all-action display.

He was not a goal poacher. Rather, he was a striker whose playmaking was at an elite level and could dribble efficiently.

These traits alone already made him an envy of big clubs around Europe, but factor in his clinical goalscoring into the equation and Sam was even better than famous striker talents around the world.

In FC Barcelona, Sam's number was the no. 40, this was because bigger and more famous numbers of the Catalan club were already occupied by others.

For the attacking and midfield players of the Catalan club, the no. 8 jersey was now occupied by Pedri while the no. 6 was occupied by Gavi, following in the footsteps of their idols, Xavi and Iniesta.

Other iconic numbers of the club that were held by teammates included the no. 11 that was now held by Raphinha, the no. 19 that Lamine Yamal wore, Ferran Torres' no. 7, and then Robert Lewandowski's no. 9.

Of course, none of those numbers was the biggest of the Catalan club.

The biggest and most iconic jersey number of FC Barcelona that was donned by legendary players like Messi, Ronaldinho, Maradona and the likes was the iconic no. 10 jersey.

With Ansu Fati gone from FC Barcelona, the no. 10 jersey became vacant again but Sam did not lay claim to the legendary number yet.

Of course he coveted it, who wouldn't? But he was patient.

Sam didn't just want to wear the mantle that once belonged to the great Lionel Messi with which he led FC Barcelona to such a glorious dynasty without deserving it. He wanted to earn the no. 10 jersey.

That way, wearing it wouldn't feel like a burden but rather like the final crowning moment to a new King in Barcelona.

To every football fan who had the privilege of watching Sam in motion against Brest as a false 9, they gave the game a nickname, the unforgettable debut.

This was Sam's first footprints in the elite tier of club competition, the UEFA champions league and from what the fans saw, boy was he ready for more.

With it, his UEFA champions league stats finally started counting.

(UEFA Champions League:)

(Games: 1)

(Goals: 3)

(Assists: 0)

In just one game, Sam took his goalscoring tally in the UEFA champions league to 3 goals!

And not just that, from the initial figure of 002, it was now 525, 5 goals and 2 assists in 5 games since signing for FC Barcelona.

At some point this season, it seemed that FC Barcelona had made a mistake splurging 80m+ Euros to get his signing but Sam was finally proving his worth.

He was shutting his critics up.

At the end of the game, Sam fully set a storm online on social media.

There were so many topics to discuss about the game; Hansi Flick's tactical brilliance and willingness to take risk to experiment in such a big game, and then Sam's sheer footballing brilliance.

Lots of highlights were made about the game, mostly the first goal where his telepathic chemistry between Lamine Yamal truly shone.

All of a sudden, everyone seemed to have forgotten that Sam was involved in such a damaging scandal, focusing on his football again.

But then, later in the evening after getting home, meeting his girlfriend, and celebrating his performance today, news finally came from the FC Barcelona medical team concerning the Polish striker, Robert Lewandowski.

It was serious.

After scans by the medical team, they confirmed that Robert Lewandowski suffered from an ACL injury, also called an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The ACL is the tissue that connects the thighbone to the shinbone at the knee. The injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament is torn.

Robert Lewandowski was ruled out for the rest of the season.

"…!"

And just like that, FC Barcelona fans were thrown into the deep end again, panicking about their fate. Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire

The striking position was one of those spots that FC Barcelona was lacking, not having depth for in their squad.

Robert Lewandowski was the only tried and proven striker of the squad; to be ruled out for the rest of the season, it was definitely a crisis for the club.

Sam may have played amazing today but it was just 1 game, and he had played in that position only 2 times, who knows if it was not just a 1-time thing?

Concern and worry befell the FC Barcelona fanbase even as the fans showed their solidarity for the Polish striker, supporting him on social media.

Amid it all, they still celebrated their win as it kept their UEFA champions league run this season perfect.

While all that happened, Sam had a nice time with his girlfriend at home. To celebrate his performance today, Kayla made a sumptuous meal for him which Sam enjoyed with his all before consolidating it by getting intimate with his girlfriend.

There were few feelings in the world like getting intimate with the girl you loved after making a big career achievement.

Very late at night, before sleeping, Sam got a message from a familiar but unexpected contact.

(NEW! Unread message from Eric Chelle…)