Jorge Mendes, the European sports giant.
His most famous clients are Cristiano Ronaldo and Mourinho, with other top players including Di Maria, Falcao, and De Gea.
Some say Mendes is a pure capitalist, devoid of human touch, and that players are merely tools for him to make money;
Others argue that, compared to other exploitative agents, Mendes is indeed professional enough to help his players secure better interests.
Those who dislike him are usually the clubs.
In Lu Xiao's opinion, Mendes's reputation, good or bad, doesn't matter.
As long as he can help him get his rightful earnings, whether from club wages or commercial operations.
Lu Xiao doesn't care about human touch.
In business, as long as it's professional enough, that's fine.
He initially thought Mendes's team would send a specialist to communicate with him, but unexpectedly, Mendes himself called.
"Hello, Mr. Mendes."
"I've watched your videos, and my intuition tells me that you, like Ronaldo and Messi, are a future world-shaking talent…"
"Therefore, I sincerely invite you to sign with my agency."
"We will definitely use the most professional and mature solutions to help you manage your assets properly, secure the most reasonable salary for you, and arrange the most suitable commercial collaborations."
"If you cannot make the decision yourself, we can also discuss it with your family…"
As a giant among agents, Mendes did not adopt a condescending attitude but communicated with Lu Xiao as an equal.
Even though he knew the person on the other end was just a 16-year-old kid.
"No need, we can sign directly. It's a pleasure working with you, Mr. Mendes."
"A pleasure working with you. I believe you won't regret it. My assistant will go to Leverkusen tomorrow to sign the agent contract with you and accompany you to negotiate the contract with the club."
"If you are satisfied, he will be your exclusive agent from now on."
"Don't worry, he graduated from law school, has lawyer and agent qualifications, and can also help you with legal issues."
That fast?
He just inquired about his interest today, and they're sending someone to sign tomorrow.
Mendes's team is quite efficient.
...
The next day, Lu Xiao walked out of the Leverkusen training base gym in the morning.
Upon arriving at the agreed-upon cafe, Mendes's agent assistant had already been waiting for a long time.
At first glance, Lu Xiao had only two words to describe him—professional.
He perfectly fit Lu Xiao's stereotype of an elite lawyer or elite businessperson.
A white man in his 30s, with a lean face, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and a sharp suit.
"Mr. Lu, hello, I am an economic agent from Mendes's team, and from now on, I will be your exclusive assistant. This is my business card. I can help you with any issues, including contract and personal matters… I will try to be available 24 hours a day."
"You're too kind, no need for that."
Lu Xiao chuckled twice.
He glanced at the agent's business card… Wow!
Harry Kane?
The same name as the future England superstar?
Hopefully, his name won't hinder his championship aspirations in the future.
If he can officially sign with Leverkusen, he'll mostly focus on training, and after training, he'll go to high school to catch up on academic subjects.
Base, school, dormitory, a three-point line.
Generally, there won't be much opportunity to ask the agent for help.
"No, this is our service philosophy. Taking care of players' lives is also part of the agent's services."
"Okay, I'll find you if I need anything. Now, let's first deal with the professional contract for Leverkusen…"
Lu Xiao carefully considered his demands.
Daily training, team training matches, reserve team, youth training matches, etc., do not increase the template fusion value.
Only first-team official professional matches like the Bundesliga, German Cup, and Champions League can increase it.
Lu Xiao hoped to quickly integrate into the first team and seize opportunities to prove himself.
Therefore, there would be restrictions on the contract he was about to sign.
When Lu Xiao presented his conditions, Harry Kane diligently recorded them on a tablet and also recorded them with a voice recorder in advance.
"First, it must be a first-team position, not youth training or reserve team."
"It's best to stipulate a minimum number of appearances per season in the contract…"
For a 16-year-old player with no historical achievements and unable to prove himself,
Demanding the club to sign a first-team contract and specify the number of appearances is a rather unreasonable and difficult request.
But Harry Kane still patted his chest and guaranteed.
"I understand, I will resolve it."
...
"With Lu's talent, he's only worth 1,000 Euros?"
"That's already very high. Currently, 16-year-old youth players only have apprentice contracts with a weekly salary of less than 1,000 Euros."
A relatively fierce dispute erupted in the Leverkusen meeting room.
One side was Michael Schade, the president of Leverkusen Club;
The other side was Lu Xiao's agent, Harry Kane.
The two sides argued endlessly over the contract details.
Typically, 16-year-old players similar in age to Lu Xiao receive a weekly salary of 850 Euros.
This price applies to everyone in Leverkusen's youth training and reserve team.
In the past, Lu Xiao would have been satisfied.
A weekly income of 1,000 Euros is 30,000 Euros a month!
In Lu Xiao's opinion, this was already a huge sum.
His weekly salary in Bayern's youth training was only 500 Euros.
However, his agent, Harry Kane, was very angry.
"If that's the case, I don't think there's any need to continue discussing. I believe other clubs will appreciate Lu Xiao."
Harry Kane used a provocative tactic,
The other party dared not be negligent.
"Wait a moment… We can still discuss it. So, how much do you want?"
"It must at least reach the lowest tier of first-team salary standards."
"That's impossible!"
Leverkusen President Schade argued reasonably.
Currently, the lowest salary tier in the first team, for players designated as "substitute rotation," is 14,500 Euros per week.
A 16-year-old Lu Xiao wants to earn over 10,000 Euros?
Without having investigated Lu Xiao's true level and potential, the club would not pay high salaries to idle people.
"Then I'm very sorry."
Harry Kane stood up with Lu Xiao, preparing to leave.
Lu Xiao's lips were almost unable to suppress his smile beside him,
This was clearly the same bargaining tactic used in domestic night markets, exactly the same.
Sure enough, Leverkusen President Schade truly backed down.
"Don't be so hasty. How about this? We'll first sign a contract at the 5,000 Euro tier, with the designation 'Rising Star.'"
"If Lu meets the appearance standards, fulfilling the condition of 10 appearances in the new season,"
"The contract will automatically increase to 15,000 Euros per week. How does that sound?"
"Additionally, appearance fees and goal bonuses will be calculated according to first-team standards."
"The club has shown great sincerity with this offer."
It was evident that Leverkusen President Schade genuinely cared about Lu Xiao and did not want to let this future talent leave.
A weekly salary of 15,000 Euros was small money.
What if… Lu Xiao truly possessed the potential of a world-class player, as Hyypiä said?
Letting him go would definitely lead to regret.
Harry Kane gave Lu Xiao a look, checking his intentions.
Lu Xiao felt the contract was quite good,
At least it proved he had some value in the first team, and that was enough.
So, after Harry Kane helped review the legal issues,
Both parties completed the signing.
Lu Xiao officially became a player for the Leverkusen first team!
—
Weekly Salary: 5,000 Euros (automatically changes to 15,000 Euros if he appears in more than 10 matches in a season)
Appearance Fee: 3,000 Euros;
Goal/Assist Bonus: 3,000 Euros;
Automatic annual salary increase of 25% each season
Can be evaluated based on seasonal performance, and both parties have the right to propose priority contract renewal.
— — — —
"Come on, smile!"
Click!
Lu Xiao held up Leverkusen's number 39 jersey and stood with head coach Hyypiä and President Schade to take a photo.
Leverkusen's official website used this photo to publicly announce the signing of the new player.
At the same time, far away in the great Eastern nation.
Xiao Liu, the Weibo operations editor for Sports Weekly's sports self-media account on Sina Weibo, was browsing foreign online news.
It was July 2013, the peak transfer period for major Leagues.
He wanted to compile the transfer operations of each club and unearth some explosive news.
For example, the matter of "renegade" Götze defecting from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern.
German media exploded, it was definitely a good transfer anecdote.
"Wait a minute? A Chinese player?"
On Leverkusen's official website, Xiao Liu was stunned.
He clearly saw a standard East Asian face and a standard Chinese name appearing in the team's signing announcement!
"Lu Shaw, an overseas player, perhaps…"
Could it be that another Chinese player was about to land in the Bundesliga?