Becoming a football god from Arsenal

Chapter 141: Superimposed bonuses and tiered bonuses! Development of co-branded sneakers? The foreshadowing of Puma and the Golden Boy Award!
"I've been waiting for a long time."

In the office, Orto, the general manager of the British branch, stood up from his seat and extended his right hand towards Maher. “Orto, Mr. Mendes should be familiar with me.”

"Hello."

Maher shook his hand and gave him a brief hug, then sat down across from him with Mendes.

"Then let's get straight to the point." Orto handed a copy of the contract on the table to Maher, turned to look at Mendes and asked, "How much do the players know about this contract now?"

Mendes replied with a smile: "He only knows about the bonus. There is no way, you must know that he is the hottest star in the Premier League recently.

"People who want to sign him line up from here to Southampton. There are also various interviews and events, plus the tight schedule, so there is no time to understand the details."

Maher covered his face with the contract and tilted his head to look at him. Was this an exaggeration of facts based on reality and mixed with lies?

He chuckled, looked through the bonus contract in his hand, and found that it was somewhat similar to the one from Arsenal.

The club honors he has the opportunity to win are still arranged according to weight, with different weights having different bonuses.

But in addition to this, Puma specifically marked the personal honors in bold font. Compared with the bonus contract given by the club, they will definitely pay more attention to the personal honors of the players.

For example, the first-level weight is the three championship trophies: World Cup champion, European Cup champion, and Champions League champion.

But he has four personal honors: FIFA Ballon d'Or, UEFA Best Player, FIFA Team of the Year, and European Top Scorer (European Golden Boot).

The prize money for this type of weight reached an astonishing 200 million pounds.

The second-level weight is the three championship trophies: Premier League champion, FA Cup champion and Club World Cup champion.

His personal honors include the Golden Boy Award, Domestic Footballer of the Year, Premier League Golden Boot, Premier League Player of the Season, Champions League Golden Boot, Champions League Final Best Player, and World Cup Golden Ball Award.

The prize money for this type of weight is 100 million pounds, which is also very good.

The remaining championships, the official best team of each competition (not necessarily available) and the best player in the final are worth 50 pounds.

In general, as a superimposed bonus, this contract is very generous. As long as the player truly has a phenomenal performance, it is easy to get an endorsement fee of more than 1 million pounds a year, or even more!

Maher's breathing became unstable, and he seemed to see countless green banknotes floating in the sky on the road in front of him.

If he performs well, with this bonus plus the club's salary and bonuses, he can quickly buy the mansion and truly own a fixed asset worth tens of millions of pounds and a place to live.

Including if ins needs further financing in the future, its ample pocket will give it the possibility to acquire more shares.

“Now that players know about stacking bonuses, it’s time to talk about tiered bonuses.”

Orto stared at Maher's right hand, estimated his speed of turning pages, and introduced: "The ladder bonus is calculated based on the player's accumulated bonus during the season, and the calculation method is simple.

"For prize money equal to or less than £300 million, there will be an additional £100 in bonuses for every £30 million of prize money.

"For every £300 million between £600 million and £100 million, there is an extra £50 in bonuses. For every £600 million above £100 million, there is an extra £80 in bonuses, nearly doubling the amount.

“Please note that this is not a complex tiered calculation of tax rates, but a simple lump sum calculation for one season.

"When you reach a new level, all accumulated bonuses during the season will be settled according to the bonuses of the new level."

Mendes looked at Maher with a smile. These were what he had fought for in previous negotiations, and he had known about them for a long time.

I haven't said it before. I just wanted to come here to give Mahel a more powerful surprise and motivation.

He believes that Maher will be impressed by the contract and work towards the team and personal honors written on it.

"I understand."

Maher put the contract down, crossed his fingers and nodded with satisfaction, "What do I need to do?"

"Makeup photo shoots and up to 6 advertising shoots per year."

Orto dragged the bench closer and said in a very good manner, "It won't delay you by many days. All in all, it will only take up 15 days of your time every year at most.

"Besides that, after signing, you may have to wear Puma shoes in any game or training.

"If the shin guards are exposed, or you wear a headband or muscle tape, you have to use Puma."

"No problem." Maher didn't care much about these things, so he agreed directly: "Then I might have to choose some Puma shin guards, muscle stickers, and bandages now, because there will be a league tomorrow."

"Come with me to the warehouse."

Alto stood up with a smile and took the two of them down to a place in the elevator. "Let's pick a few things today that may be used tomorrow."

"After that, I will send you several copies of all Puma's clothing, pants and sports goods. Then you can slowly pick out the ones you like and use them in your daily life."

"Do you want to pay?" Maher made a joke. In his previous life, he quite liked Puma's clothes, but now he was a little uncomfortable with suddenly becoming the spokesperson.

"Hahaha" the three of them laughed together, they walked into the warehouse and started to select equipment for Maher for the next day's competition.

While preparing his football shoes, Maher suddenly had some strange feelings. His football career is inseparable from shoes, which can be regarded as one of his important bonds.

"I seem to have heard that there are sneakers co-branded with basketball stars?"

He looked at Orto with a hint of excitement in his eyes, "Will I have a chance to cooperate with Puma to develop a joint model?"

On the one hand, this is a dream come true for the young boy whose sneakers were torn apart at the Kearney base, so that "he" can have a pair of sneakers that truly belong to him.

He can also donate 100 pairs of shoes for charity for every 10 pairs sold, passing on the warmth that Hans once gave him to those children who like to play football but have no money to buy shoes.

On the other hand, sneakers are to players what weapons are to soldiers.

A pair of sneakers designed completely according to your foot shape and game characteristics, and also with your personal aesthetic style. They are naturally very comfortable to wear on your feet.

Not to mention improving the accuracy of various shots and passes, it will definitely improve comfort and condition.

"There is."

Orto looked a little embarrassed, and he explained with a dry laugh: "However, due to the costs of designing and developing new production lines, as well as the costs of promoting new product categories, most brands will not make this decision easily."

He kind of implicitly expressed that Maher hadn't reached that level yet.

There is really no way around it. They admire Maher's talent and believe in his future.

But they are certainly not willing to spend more money and take more risks to do the players such a favor.

The target audience of co-branded sneakers is not ordinary fans who like co-branded stars, but fans who like co-branded stars and also play football.

After two rounds of screening, there won't be many people. Maybe we have to expect more people who are not fans of the co-branded stars but play football to buy it.

When these people buy, they first look at the comfort and fit, and secondly, the star's performance data.

Only when they see the stars putting up explosive numbers wearing these shoes will they follow suit and buy them, hoping for better performance on the baseball field or in the youth training team.

"fine."

Maher was very excited about the co-branded sneakers. He showed no embarrassment and said cheerfully, "It's good to have one. I hope I can have a pair of co-branded sneakers of my own in the future."

After selecting the small items, Maher tried on the sneakers on the small artificial turf in the store, and finally packed four pairs to take home, planning to try them again on the field tomorrow.

Finally, the three of them came to the general manager's office and formally signed the contract.

"I can only come here to take the final photos when I have free time. I have a lot of competition tasks recently."

Maher stood up, shook hands with Orto and said with a smile: "But tomorrow everyone will see Maher standing on the court wearing Puma sneakers. You can contact the media and throw some smoke bombs first."

“Haha.” Orto leaned back and laughed, then said, “Okay, you will also receive the first year’s endorsement fee tomorrow.

"I look forward to your chance to win a bonus in your first season. I will be more than happy to transfer the money from our company account to your card. That money represents a win-win for both of us."

It's true that bonuses are set up to motivate players to strive for these important honors.

As long as the players receive these honors, the increased influence will definitely radiate to the sponsor Puma, and they will then be able to obtain greater benefits.

They are not worried about the players getting too much bonus, but rather they hope that the players can get more.

"And mine." Mendes was in a good mood. He grinned and shook hands and hugged the two men.

After finishing all this, Maher and Mendes walked out of the building, said goodbye and headed towards their destination.

Maher thought a lot on his way home. Whether in terms of income or in terms of clear goals and motivation, this endorsement was worth signing.

Now, he knows better what he should do and which direction to move in.

Stacking bonuses?

Tiered bonuses?

Within 5 years, he must make sure that the final basic endorsement fee exceeds 2000 million!
He also wants to strive to have Puma develop a unique co-branded pair of sneakers for him with his outstanding performance as soon as possible!

On September 9, the fifth round of the Premier League arrived, Arsenal challenged Blackburn Rovers away. This was a team in the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League last season, but it had a temperament of robbing the rich to help the poor, always playing some classic battles of the weak defeating the strong, but it was easy to lose to the relegation team.

In this game, they once again showed the excitement they had when playing against a strong team. They fought for every ball on the court, refusing to give in and making very few mistakes.

In the 10th minute of the game, Alexander Song's long pass found Gervinho who broke into the penalty area. The latter replaced Walcott who was resting today.

"Bang!!"

Gervinho stopped the ball in the penalty area and scored a goal that was almost identical to Walcott's shot from a small angle in the last round of the league.

One to zero!

But Arsenal did not remain happy for long. 15 minutes later, Blackburn striker Yakub received a through ball from Hoilett, broke into the Arsenal penalty area and shot into the far corner to score.

One to one!

"Bang!!"

Nine minutes later, Arteta received a cross from Maher in the middle and responded with a long shot, helping Arsenal take the lead again.

This is also his first Premier League goal for Arsenal!

"Vamos!" The pure Spaniard shouted out the pure Spanish celebration. Arteta celebrated passionately with a rising dragon punch, and after Maher came up, he jumped on him.

"It seems to be the easiest assist in my career." Maher praised with some emotion, "Now I know how comfortable the person who assisted me was when I scored a goal with a long shot last season."

Arteta pumped his fists a few times before jumping back to the ground and said with a smile: “I wish I could get such an easy assist.”

"Then pass it to me."

Maher patted his chest, and the two were then surrounded by other teammates who rushed up.

They quickly entered the halftime break with a one-goal lead, but the lead did not last long.

Just five minutes into the second half, Reuven Rochina's cross hit Alexander Song's knee and bounced into Arsenal's net.

Two to two!
Flat again!
Nine minutes later, Blackburn striker Jakub, who had scored in the first half, got an absolute chance to counterattack. He received a pass from N'Zonzi and faced Szczesny alone.

"Oh!"

Seeing that Szczesny's attack was too reckless, he lobbed the ball outside the penalty area, and the ball bounced off the ground and finally bounced into the net.

Three to two!
Blackburn is leading!
Wenger quickly replaced Gervinho with Walcott, and then replaced Alexander Song with Shamakhr, launching a 4-2-4 attack.

In the 69th minute of the game, Arsenal launched a quick counterattack with six players in the midfield and frontcourt attacking across the board.

The one who was dribbling forward with the ball was naturally Maher. He had two chances today, but for some reason, he failed to score.

It might be because I was wearing Puma sneakers that I had never worn before and I hadn’t fully adapted to them yet.

"Bang bang bang!"

He rushed up from the left with the ball and was soon surrounded by former Real Madrid players Salgado and Samba.

Looking at the empty wing, he kept dribbling the ball and accelerating, each time faster and faster, steadily and sharply.

Salgado and Samba soon felt the sensation of slow death as they watched Mahel slowly rush past them and they had no way to do anything.

When Maher changed direction to the middle, the two couldn't stop and collided heavily on the sidelines and fell to the ground.

Dann, who was in a state of chaos, didn't dare to let Maher enter the vicinity of the top of the arc, and wanted to pull Maher directly out of the penalty area.

Unfortunately, no matter how he tried, he failed. Instead, he fell to the ground in a mess.

People turn their backs!

"Bang!!"

Maher then made a curved shot from the corner of the penalty area. He deliberately increased the strength of his ankle swing to achieve a larger arc and bypass the goalkeeper's hands.

Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Robinson leaped out and fell back to the ground in vain, his hands only grabbing air.

"Swish!" The football brushed against the upper right corner of the net and went into the net. It was so elegant and brilliant that the home team fans at the scene fell into a long silence.

Instead of going to the sidelines to celebrate, Maher rushed to the goal, picked up the ball, and rushed back to the center circle while roaring.

Three to three!
Maher’s 7th Premier League goal!
He ran wildly against the breeze, his hair on his forehead fluttering up, revealing his entire handsome face.

People can see Maher's appearance in the broadcast through the big screen in the stadium. His facial features are handsome and three-dimensional, as if carved out of jade. His wheat-colored skin gives a masculine feeling and his figure is almost perfect.

He looks like Nesta, once a member of the Italian men's football team, but with fewer wrinkles.

When many female fans saw this scene, their legs tightened and their hearts began to beat rapidly with a strange feeling.

But unfortunately, this round of competition ended with a score of 3 to 3.

Maher, who scored 1 goal, had 1 assist and made 3 threatening passes, was named the best player after the game. This is his second time this season.

During the interview, he recalled a sentence from a previous interview and shook his head, saying, "Like I said, we will sprain our ankles on small stones. Maybe it's not considered a sprain, just a stumble and then continue forward.

“I don’t mean to insult Blackburn Rovers, I just mean that we were the stronger side and should have won, but we were stopped by the other side in better condition.

"It doesn't matter. We have three wins and two draws in the first five games, no defeat, and are in fourth place with 5 points. We have managed to stabilize the situation.

"We will strive for a higher ranking. Now, I have to prepare for the Champions League."

He waved to the reporters, walked out of Blackburn's home stadium, and took the team bus back home.

The atmosphere in the car was still somewhat silent. Maher did not chat with others and retracted his optimistic appearance in front of the media.

The draw with Blackburn Rovers will definitely feel different to the draw with Manchester United.

He needs to adapt to the new sneakers and the feeling of being defeated in the Premier League, and he needs to keep a steady mind. Only in this way will he not surrender too quickly when encountering difficulties.

Stay strong and keep striving for the championship title!

"Mael is wearing new shoes. It is rumored that the player has reached a sponsorship cooperation with Puma and will be officially announced soon?" - The Sun

"Arsenal are about to usher in the first round of the new season's Champions League. They will play against Dortmund away. In addition to the duel between Van Persie and Lewandowski, will this also be a genius duel between Maher and Gotze?" - BBC Champions League column

"Golden Boy Battle? Maher is about to face off against Golden Boy favorite Gotze in his Champions League debut!" - German Football Express

After returning home at night, Maher saw many reports about him on social media, either about Puma or the Golden Boy Award.

Of course, there are also people praising him for scoring goals in consecutive games, but after seeing so many reports like this, he himself doesn't care too much about it.

Most of the time, he would just turn the page, unless he came across a report that questioned his views, then he would take a second look.

He is no longer the same person he was when he first came to the Premier League. After his goals have been raised, it is difficult for him to feel happy with ordinary praise.

Only when he achieves his goal and sees the Internet flooded with reports about his important moment will he be satisfied and happy for several days.

“Puma is laying the groundwork.”

He put down his phone and thought: "Puma doesn't seem to have a Ballon d'Or winner. If the future cooperation is harmonious, when I have the opportunity to win the Ballon d'Or, maybe they will do their best to build momentum."

But the best way is when he is truly prepared, performs to the point of surpassing everyone else, and wins the Golden Ball trophy that year without a doubt!

“The Golden Boy Award is also laying the groundwork.”

He thought of the upcoming match against Dortmund and the head-on confrontation with Götze, and he began to feel a little bit of anticipation for the award.

Since his ultimate goal is a Grand Slam, the Golden Boy Award is naturally the first step towards major personal honors.

Not to mention, Puma rates this award with a prize of £100 million.

As long as he gets it, the sponsorship fee he gets from Puma this year will directly reach 185 million pounds, and will start to accumulate next year with a starting endorsement fee of 185 million pounds.

"We must try to blow them up."

Maher secretly cheered himself up. He has already achieved good statistics in the Premier League. If he can beat Gotze in the Champions League, he will definitely win the Golden Boy Award.

Without thinking about anything else, he drank some skim yogurt and went upstairs to rest.

Starting from the next day, Maher slowed down the pace of training and spent more time recuperating and doing massage therapy.

Safina and Harry's workload has increased. That's how private teams work. They have to flexibly arrange overtime and rest according to the players' schedules.

The league will start on the 17th, with only two days of rest in between.

Maher must make good use of it and try to get his body into better shape!
(End of this chapter)