Thanks to the support of all of Sae Itoshi’s fans, the young Itoshi is currently in the hospital. I can’t tell you exactly what’s going on, but he will recover soon; he’ll return stronger than ever for the Re-Al.
— G.D
Because it’s genuinely annoying when the characterization is so poor, reducing him to nothing more than "Shidou’s boyfriend," "a tsundere," or someone who loves Isagi the most while viewing him as a brother. That just shows you don’t understand his character at all.
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Remember: we don’t know what happened in Spain; when he returned, even Rin mentioned that he had lost weight. Sae cares about Rin, and for that reason, he wants Rin not to depend on him, he wants Rin to have an ego of his own, and for himx not to be the reason for it.
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When Sae returned from Spain, he was still willing to share his dream with Rin, for Rin to become the best striker and for Sae to become the best midfielder, but upon seeing that Rin had become too dependent on him, he pushed him away.
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Sae cares about Rin in his own way; he believes that Isagi will change the history of Japanese soccer, and he does admire him as a player, but that doesn’t mean he prefers Isagi over Rin.
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