The year is 2026. Cristiano Ronaldo shuffles Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Bernardo Silva away from a dead ball, standing over it himself; corkscrew posture, a breath deep enough to submerge himself from reality. The captain shimmies to his left a step, gallops towards the ball, and blasts it.
Of course, it floats into orbit. Nike adverts aside, every Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick you've seen has done so for at least five years.
