From Arsenal to the Ball God

February 15th, Mendes made a special trip from Lisbon, Portugal to Sheffield City, bringing two endorsement offers.

The two met at the same place as their first meeting, and as soon as they met Mendes praised Ma’el’s recent performance, his face glowing: ”Incredible, you’ve actually maintained that kind of magic until now.

”I’ve never seen a lower league player under my management receive several commercial endorsement offers.”

He took out two contracts from his bag, waved them in his hand: ”A sports drink brand from London, and a startup sportswear company from Sheffield itself.”

”Already got endorsements?”

Ma’el was quite surprised; he thought he would at least have to wait until he reached the Premier League to get such contracts.

”Don’t get happy too soon.”

Mendes didn’t hand the contracts to Ma’el but put them back into the briefcase, shaking his head: ”These two endorsements are only for a year, with a total endorsement amount of 400,000 pounds, and this is the best choice among them.

”At the level of influence you’re currently at, it’s basically impossible to get large contracts.

He took the chance to encourage: ”However, as I said before, if you can lead Sheffield United to promotion, everything will double for you, including commercial value.”

”If you ride that wave and stand out at Arsenal, your influence could break into the top twenty in the Premier League.”

”So... should I sign or not?” Ma’el listened to him, still unsure.

”Sign it.”

Mendes was straightforward; he didn’t think there was any hesitation: ”A short-term one-year contract, and mainly all startup companies, no PR risk, earning easy money—what’s not to like?

”Although I don’t really need this, this...”

Seeing his quick calculation skills were a bit off, Ma’el guessed what he was going to say and reminded: ”60,000 pounds pre-tax commission?”

Mendes looked at Ma’el with slight surprise and continued: ”Yes, although I don’t need it, but I think, in the early stages of your career, you definitely need this money.

”And it’s also worth going through the endorsement process earlier, just to get a feel for the industry, so you won’t fumble when discussing big brands later.”

Ma’el expressed that he understood, then innocently asked: ”If you don’t need it, can you waive the commission this time?”

”Ah....”

Now Mendes was in a bind. He awkwardly replied: ”Rules are still.... ah, actually it can be waived, I really don’t care much about these things.”

”I’m joking.” Ma’el laughed out loud, Mendes awkwardly laughed a couple of times, but gradually returned to normal.

”No rush to sign.”

He patted his bag, indicating to keep it first: ”Before coming, I talked to the London company and got a 50,000-pound increase, and this time I’ll negotiate with the Sheffield City company.

”You play for Sheffield United, your popularity in the city surpasses the Sheffield Mayor; they should agree.

”My psychological expectation is about 500,000 pounds combined from both companies, after-tax, you should receive.....”

Mendes looked to Ma’el for help with his eyes, the latter supplemented: ”255,000 pounds, which is also a considerable income.”

What Ma’el felt most during this time was actually not the money, but Mendes’ sincerity and dedication towards him.

Such a big agent... for such a small amount of money, specifically made a trip here, which is really not easy.

”Also, what you mentioned, I’m handling it.”

Mendes started a new topic, smiling: ”In Madrid, London, Lisbon, Milan, etc., I have contacts for the best private doctors there.”

”But Sheffield United doesn’t have one; clearly, you want the best, but Sheffield United doesn’t have the best, this is not urgent, let’s settle it once you go to London.”

”As for private media account management, it’s a complicated task. My suggestion is that you manage Facebook yourself.

”The intent of the operator and you cannot possibly sync, sometimes an error in replying to a comment could impact your future.”

He rubbed his hands, smiled a bit: ”For other countries, they can be operated by Mendes Agency.

”We have a lot of staff and experience in this area; we’ll simultaneously activate all sizable social media platform accounts worldwide, post synchronously daily, and urge you to shoot holiday blessing videos to draw attention.”

”I have no objections.”

Ma’el took out his phone, pointed at the ins app, handed it to Mendes, ”Mr. Mendes take a look at this page, the app has been on the market for a few months and has over 100,000 registrations.”

Mendes took it, swiped and clicked a few times, his eyes lit up: ”Very good, is it because of the novelty? How do I feel it’s more comfortable than Facebook?”

He saw a business opportunity, ”Over 100,000 users in a few months, very promising.

”Let me suggest this to you, you should be one of the few little celebrities among the registrants, maybe contact them to see if you can reach some cooperation.

”Some startups use the fame of small stars to drive up registration numbers; getting some shares would be nice.”

Ma’el nodded, noted down this proposal, he certainly knows that ins will explode in the future and will have a very high market value.

But..... investing in such companies is really not easy.

They often find private equity funds, large consortiums, and investors to conduct rounds of financing such as A, B, C, etc.

They don’t just raise money; they also use the network and other resources of these large investors for development.

Mendes’ proposal provided him with a method of using his existing influence to connect with this company.

He decided to try, to see if the other party would respond to him.

During the journey of developing a new account with a new company, if this new company had shares of its own... that would be simply wonderful.

”See you in a few days, even if the contract is small, it still has many processes. I may have to return to Portugal in the meantime.”

After dinner, it was already evening, the two parted on the street side, Mendes coolly got into a business car, waving to Ma’el.

Ma’el waved back to him; in their daily interactions, Mendes was gradually gaining his favor.

One of his advantages is that he doesn’t pretend to be capable; professional matters are left to professionals.

And it’s precisely because of this, a group of people who can help him is gradually gathering around him.

This is still quite good, always making him feel that he is making progress on multiple fronts, promising a bright future.

......

On February 16th, Sheffield United hosted a tough challenge at home—a match against Reading, who were just as strong, both teams with 64 points and currently ranked fourth in the league standings.

Before the match began, among the players, Ma’el had the sense that someone was watching him.

He turned his head to see Reading’s captain Sean Long staring seriously in this direction, with a curious look as if he wanted to dissect Ma’el.

Not concerned, he adjusted his breathing frequency, ready to step onto the passionate and uncertain field.

”.....”

”A strong confrontation! It’s Sean Long, he shoved away Quinn....a powerful shot! The ball is sent into the corner!!

”He waited for a moment, finding a shooting angle as the defender lunged at him, and then he shot! A top-class striker in the Championship, I look forward to his performance in the Premier League!”

”.....”

”This is Mark Yates, approaching the edge of the penalty area! Mills can’t back up any further; it’s getting dangerous unless he can block the shot!

”Oh...! A skillful push shot, the football rolls through Mills’ legs and heads for the goal, and the goalkeeper can’t effectively save such a ball squeezed through the defender’s legs!

”One to one! An assist from Ma’el, Mark Yates climbs onto Ma’el’s back; they are competitors, but their relationship seems quite good!”

”.....”

”Griffin!!

”A powerful shot hits, leaving Robert conceding to age!! He no longer has the bounce and reflexes of his youth!

”Reading regains the lead! Two to one!!”

”.....”

”The situation is very tense; we don’t know which side will score next. It’s crucial to keep calm and avoid mistakes in these moments.

”A long pass! Central position, Gilbert moves up, reaching the spot!

”Ma’el directly breaks behind the opponent’s defense! He seems to understand Gilbert well, will there be a header flick?

”There it is! Gilbert flicks the ball, and it flies toward Ma’el’s path, Mills is struggling to keep up, he might take a desperate hit on Ma’el!

”Ma’el stumbles a few steps! Mills falls!! A one-on-one, will it go past the goalkeeper like before?

”A stride, a drop of the shoulder! Federici loses his balance, Ma’el faces an open goal, a push shot!!

”A beautiful goal! Two to two! At the 69th minute of the match, Ma’el scores a crucial goal!!”

The entire stadium erupts with cheers, home fans wildly clap and scream, as many media photographers come alive.

A reporter standing next to Sean Long captures an iconic photo of this Championship round, focusing on Ma’el sliding on his knees towards the sidelines, using Sean Long’s shoulder and head as the backdrop.

From Sean Long’s uplifted gaze toward the sky in the image, people can guess his envy and complex emotions at that moment.

”Two to two! The Championship third and fourth place battle ends in a draw, a result both sides can accept!” — ”Sheffield Evening Paper”

......

February 17th, Emirates Stadium.

”Yeah.....!!”

With deafening cheers, over fifty thousand Arsenal fans rise from their seats, some raising their arms, others wildly clapping.

Wenger, wearing an unzipped coat, jumps out of the substitute’s bench to celebrate, as the entire Arsenal team plunges into madness.

Because they have defeated the peak Dream Three Universe team, Barcelona, with Messi at home!

Arshavin, who scored the winning goal, runs around the stadium, still retaining a hint of the ’Tsar’s’ awe.

Just after achieving the six trophies in 09’, Guardiola, grinning in slight regret, hugs the players before directing his gaze towards Arsenal’s lineup.

Wearing the number 4 jersey, Fabregas stood out prominently... so enticing, they actually had a chance to sign him at the start of the season.

Fabregas seemed to sense his call, turned back, revealing a concealed slight smile, ignoring the celebrations of over fifty thousand Arsenal fans.

Wenger noticed this, his expression changing from excitement to calm, then slowly to somber.

After walking into the player tunnel with the others, his winning excitement almost completely faded, he turned back, gazing at the deliberately slow-paced figure, ”Fabregas, walk quicker.”

”Oh.”

Fabregas nodded, quickening his pace, but his side glance caught sight of Pique and Javi’s hint.

”Shoe’s untied.”

He stopped, squatted to untie the lace, tying it slowly while keeping an eye on Wenger’s footsteps.

Seeing him halt hesitantly at the changing room door, his heart skipped a beat. Fortunately, Wenger eventually stepped in, closing the door behind him.

Fabregas looked around to check for any hidden cameras, then replaced his expression with a beaming smile, quickly heading towards the two.

Over ten minutes later, sensing something amiss as he returned to the changing room.

He was greeted by silence and unfriendly gazes from all the players, with Wenger standing in the center, arms crossed, turning to face him.

Clearly, Wenger made everyone wait for him, and everyone had remained silent for over ten minutes.

”Just went to the bathroom.” Fabregas still didn’t want to tear the façade, Wenger’s repeated indulgence had made him gradually accustomed to such awkward situations.

”I’m proud of you all.” Wenger said, facing the others, turning to pick up a pen, intending to write something on the tactics board to summarize the match.

But as he raised his hand, his mind was a jumble, unable to write anything, eventually letting his arm hang down, standing there with his head bowed.

Strangely, they had clearly won.