June 16th.
Philadelphia.
The soft touch on his shoulder pulled Lukas out of sleep.
"Mr. Brandt," the flight attendant said gently, smiling politely, "we’ve landed."
Lukas blinked a few tis, montarily disoriented as he looked around the dim cabin of the private jet. Most of the others were already awake by now.
João was stretching lazily in his seat across from him.
Aaron was checking sothing on his phone.
Javi was already standing near the aisle speaking quietly with another mber of the flight crew.
Beside Lukas, Joanna stirred slightly beneath the blanket draped over her lap.
"We’re here?" she murmured sleepily.
"Looks like it."
The flight attendant smiled warmly. "Welco to Philadelphia."
"Thank you," Lukas replied politely before standing up slowly and grabbing his backpack from beside the seat.
A few minutes later, the cabin door finally opened.
Warm air imdiately rushed inside.
Arican sumr heat.
As Lukas stepped down from the jet stairs, sunlight hit his face hard enough that he instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes for a second.
The heat felt different from Europe sohow.
Heavier.
Brighter.
The tarmac stretched endlessly around them while private aircraft lined parts of the nearby hangar space at Philadelphia International Airport.
Not far from the jet, a black SUV convoy was already waiting.
Lukas adjusted the strap of his backpack over one shoulder before pulling a black face cap lower onto his head. Sunglasses followed a second later.
João stepped down behind him and imdiately whistled.
"Okay," he muttered, looking around, "this actually feels like Arica."
Aaron laughed quietly beside them.
"Wait till you see the highways."
The driver waiting beside the SUV stepped forward imdiately.
"Welco to Philadelphia," he said politely while taking so of the luggage from the group.
Lukas shook his hand. "Thank you."
Soon enough they climbed into the vehicles, luggage loaded into the back while the convoy pulled away from the private terminal.
As they drove out of the airport area and rged onto the wide Arican roads, Lukas quietly watched everything through the tinted windows.
Philadelphia moved differently from European cities.
The roads were massive.
The cars were bigger.
Everything felt stretched wider sohow.
Even the spacing between buildings felt unfamiliar.
This was his first ti in the United States.
Not just in this life.
Even in his previous life, he had never once visited the country.
João, anwhile, looked glued to the window beside him.
"Bro," he said quietly, "everything actually looks like movies."
Aaron laughed from the front passenger seat.
"That’s the most European reaction possible."
Lukas smiled faintly while continuing to look outside.
Arican flags flew outside storefronts and gas stations. Huge billboards towered beside highways. Basketball courts appeared between apartnt blocks. Murals covered sections of brick buildings as the convoy drove deeper into the city.
Eventually the urban scenery started thinning slightly as they headed farther out.
Aaron turned slightly in his seat.
"The squad’s staying near the training setup arranged for the tournant," he explained. "The club’s base camp itself is down in Florida at Lynn University, but because the first match is here in Philadelphia, the team moved operations temporarily."
Lukas nodded quietly.
His mind was already drifting toward football again.
The squad.
Training.
Pep.
First impressions.
As the SUV continued through the Philadelphia roads, Aaron turned slightly in the front passenger seat and looked back toward Lukas.
"There’s sothing I should explain before we get to the hotel," he said.
Lukas looked up from the window. "What is it?"
Aaron nodded slightly. "You won’t be registered for the group stage gas."
João blinked imdiately. "What?"
Aaron quickly clarified.
"The registration deadline for the first squad list closed on June 10th. At that point, the transfer still wasn’t finalized yet, so FIFA wouldn’t allow City to include Lukas in the initial list."
Lukas nodded slowly.
That made sense.
"But," Aaron continued, "there’s another registration window that opens on June 27th before the knockout stages begin. Once that opens, the club will officially register you."
"So I can play from the knockouts onward?" Lukas asked.
"Exactly."
Aaron smiled slightly. "For now, the plan is just for you to settle in, et the squad properly, train with the team, and support the group during the first three gas."
João leaned back dramatically. "That’s torture."
Lukas laughed softly.
"It’s fine," he said honestly. "I expected sothing like that anyway."
And truthfully—
he was still excited.
The SUV eventually pulled up outside one of the luxury hotels FIFA had reserved for participating clubs during the tournant. Security barriers lined parts of the entrance while a few fans lingered near the designated viewing areas outside.
The mont Lukas stepped out of the SUV, voices imdiately called toward him.
"LUKAS!"
"BRANDT!"
Several Manchester City shirts waved from behind the barriers, so fans already holding signs with his na despite him not even being eligible to play yet.
Lukas smiled faintly and raised a hand toward them before adjusting the cap on his head and following Aaron inside.
The hotel lobby buzzed quietly with club staff moving between elevators and conference rooms.
And standing near the center waiting for them—
was Pepijn Lijnders.
"You’re finally here," Lijnders said with a grin as he stepped forward and briefly hugged Lukas.
Lukas laughed slightly, caught off guard by the energy.
"Nice to et you."
"I’m Pep," Lijnders replied imdiately. "But don’t confuse with the other Pep."
That got a laugh out of João behind them.
Lijnders pointed upward dramatically.
"He gets jealous."
Lukas smiled properly now.
"Nice to et you, coach."
"Call Lijnders," he said casually. "Or Pep. Whatever works."
After greeting the others briefly, Lijnders gestured toward the elevators.
"Guardiola’s upstairs. Team eting’s wrapping up."
A few monts later they stepped onto the fourth floor and walked toward one of the large conference rooms near the end of the hallway.
The doors opened.
And imdiately applause broke out around the room.
Players clapped from their seats, so standing, others whistling jokingly as Lukas stepped inside.
For half a second he froze slightly.
Not from nervousness.
Just from the sheer absurdity of the mont.
Then Pep Guardiola himself walked over imdiately.
"Finally," Guardiola said warmly before shaking Lukas’ hand firmly and pulling him into a quick hug. "Welco to the club. How was the flight?"
"It was good," Lukas replied.
Pep nodded approvingly before turning back toward the room.
"Alright, guys," he said while clapping his hands together once. "Tomorrow we train properly. We play in two days, so rest well tonight."
The eting dissolved almost imdiately into conversation and movent around the room.
And then Lukas spotted a familiar face.
Omar Marmoush.
The Egyptian forward was already grinning as he walked toward him.
"There he is," Marmoush laughed before pulling Lukas into a quick embrace. "Manchester City player now."
Lukas laughed too, relief washing over him slightly now that there was at least one familiar face in the room.
"Feels weird hearing that."
"You’ll get used to it."
Marmoush slapped him lightly on the shoulder before turning toward the others nearby.
"Guys, et little ssi."
"Oh, here we go again," Jeremy Doku groaned dramatically from nearby.
"No seriously," Nico O’Reilly laughed, pointing toward Marmoush. "This guy has been talking about you for months."
"Every training session," Rico Lewis added. "’Wait till Lukas cos. Wait till Lukas cos.’"
Marmoush pointed imdiately toward them. "Just wait, soon you’ll see how right I am"
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