Becoming a football god from Arsenal

Chapter 208: Best of April! Full bloom! Huge influence! Soaring commercial value!
After the celebration in the stadium ended, it was already very late. The fans left the stadium one after another with a wonderful mood, and the players walked into the player tunnel chatting and laughing.

Maher was soon invited by the staff to come to an advertising wall in the corridor and stood in the corner to be interviewed.

"An unforgettable night?" a reporter asked with a smile and also sent blessings.

Maher smiled and nodded, “Of course, this night has released everything that has been accumulated throughout the season. After an unforgettable period of time, we have also achieved unforgettable results.

“But we will not relax, there are still two games left and the team still has a goal to achieve.

"We have to keep winning until the season is actually over."

Just as he finished speaking, he saw another staff member coming towards him from a distance, carrying a cylinder and with a blessing smile on his face.

Trophy of the month!
He is very familiar with it, having won the trophy twice in October last year and February this year.

"Congratulations." The staff member came up and congratulated him before handing the trophy to Maher. "In the past month, you have scored 5 goals and 6 assists in 3 Premier League games, which is a very good record.

"You also fulfilled your promise to the fans by winning three Player of the Month awards in your debut season in the top league."

"Thank you." Maher happily took the cylinder. As the staff member said, this was a personal goal he had set in front of the media a long time ago.

Today, it’s finally done!

It is much more difficult than he imagined. On the one hand, there are too many excellent players in the Premier League, and many of them have exploded in a single month.

On the other hand, the FA sometimes gives the award as an encouragement to players who have achieved the highlights of their careers, even if they are not the best player of the month.

But this month, no matter how you look at it, the trophy should be his.

6 goals and 3 assists, which is very close to the explosive data of 2 goals per game, and he also led Arsenal to win the championship without losing. This is an absolutely impeccable performance!
Maher was in a good mood. After winning the championship again, he received the Player of the Month trophy that summarized his personal performance. Nothing could be better than this.

He needs this sense of recognition, which can support him to move forward and achieve success in a bigger arena!

A reporter then jokingly asked: "Some people say that the Player of the Month trophy is cursed. Do you agree with this statement? Because we know that you have never won this award for two consecutive months.

"Will it feel different to step onto the court next month after winning Player of the Month?"

“Haha.” Maher smiled and scratched his eyebrow with his right hand. “There are many reasons why I couldn’t win awards consecutively, but I don’t think there is any curse.

"Maybe winning this award will make people relax? Make them inflated? And then affect their state?
"I don't seem to have similar feelings. I've been used to being the best since the beginning of my career."

"Oh!" This statement caused a burst of exclamations from the reporters at the scene. This kind of "arrogant" statement was rare from Maher.

But if you think about it carefully, there is definitely nothing wrong with what you said.

The player won five Player of the Month trophies in the Championship season, so winning three this season can be considered a step backwards.

Maher hadn’t finished speaking yet, he smiled and explained seriously: “I didn’t win consecutive awards in November because of the intensive schedule. I felt very tired at the time, which made my condition decline a little.

"However, after entering February, the team narrowed its battle line, and my experience and ability have improved, and I have regained my best feeling.

"In fact, my performances in February, March and April were all good. They were continuous explosions. I don't understand why I didn't win the monthly best award consecutively after March."

He shrugged, mentioning the judges from a distance, just as he did last season in the Championship.

"You seem to be used to winning many awards in a single season. How many monthly awards do you hope to win next season?"

"10 seats."

"Haha!" The reporters in the interview area burst into laughter. Ten monthly best seats, from August to May of the following year, were all won.

Maher also laughed with them. It was indeed a joke. He didn't think the judges would give him the best award for 10 consecutive months, even if he scored 60 goals in a single season.

After this Q&A session, the reporters' questions returned to the normal track, focusing on Arsenal's championship and Maher's performance.

"40 goals and 20 assists, reaching 60+ in the Premier League, which is 20 goals ahead of Henry who previously held this record. Do you think you are a better striker than him now?"

"Ah, this is a difficult question to answer. Henry has scored nearly 500 goals in his career and has many major honors to support it. I haven't achieved that much yet.

"I think I'm better than him in terms of individual highlights in a single season, and he's better than me in terms of overall contribution and accumulated honors.

"So, each has its own advantages? Sorry, I can't answer this question accurately. I'll leave the evaluation to the fans and you media."

"."

"Is this going to be your best season yet? Or will you strive for better results in the future?"

"There is no doubt that I will strive for more championships and personal data. 40+ is not enough to make me the best active player. I will not stop.

"This is not my best season either. For me, the best season will always be next season."

"."

"At the end of the season, let's summarize what we did well this season and what we didn't do so well."

“I feel like I did a good job of preventing injuries, with my attendance rate throughout the season being over 90 percent, which is rare.

"Of course, the most important thing is to enrich my arsenal and have more scoring methods. The Premier League is a difficult league. Scoring 40 goals here shows my progress.

"As for the bad, I think it's that I neglected the fun in my daily life. There's nothing I can do about it. I must focus on improving myself when I'm young so that I can be more competitive.
“Compared to what I want to have, I’m not enough right now.”

"."

"How are you going to celebrate after the season? Are you going to get drunk with your teammates?"

"Haha. If we can finish the season with 38 games unbeaten, I think it will happen. Van Persie said before that he would invite us to the party. We are waiting for him to fulfill his promise."

"."

"What is it like working with Wenger? Did he cry today?"

"It's a great feeling, when you get the chance to work with someone you watched on TV as a kid, it motivates you every day, not to mention, to have such great success with him.

"He today"

Maher was about to speak when he suddenly felt two hands on his shoulders and squeezed them.

He turned around and saw that Mr. Wenger had come over and made a 'hush' gesture to him.

"Ha ha.!"

The two smiled at each other, and Maher slammed on the brakes without saying anything else.

"Click, click!" At this moment, reporters from the media pressed the shutter buttons frantically to record this scene and put it on the front page headlines that night.

Wenger in the picture has a kind smile on his face. His hands on Mahel's shoulders make people feel that he has a very young mentality, as if he and Mahel are good friends of the same age.

This master and disciple pair give people more than just the feeling of a partnership. To be more specific, there is even a sense of fate.

"Arsenal beat Manchester City 2-! They won the Premier League title rounds ahead of schedule! The Emirates Stadium lit up a fireworks feast for the champions!" - French "L'Equipe"

"If Wenger is King Arthur guarding Arsenal, then he finally met his Lancelot this season! Maher played an epic performance!" - British Daily Mail

"Arsenal has finally got their captain. Even though this captain is very young, he will eventually lead Arsenal to glory!" - Spanish newspaper AS

That night, the news that Arsenal won the championship again after 7 years dominated the headlines of all social media. Public opinion fermented wildly, and Maher and Wenger became the subject of discussion among all fans.

This enthusiasm may be difficult to stop for a period of time, and it will radiate to many places, triggering wave after wave of enthusiasm.

Starting from the next day, the number of people near the Emirates Stadium increased sharply. Many people came here to check in and take pictures, and also visited the club's fan shop and bought the club's peripheral products.

It was originally thought that this was just a small wave of popularity, but as time entered May, the number of tourists increased instead of decreasing, and the fan shops gradually became crowded around the clock.

"Give me something from Mahel!"

“Will there be a championship commemorative jersey?”

"Yes, but it will take time. We are already working on the design. I hope everyone will like it."

"Don't push, take your time, you can wait outside the door for a while!"

"Can you print Mahel's name plus the number 31? I want a jersey from when he first came to the club as a souvenir."

"no problem!"

"Does Maher have water bottles? Or other products? Why are there only jerseys?"

"Because of the image rights issue, there is no one for now, but the club is working on it and it may be available in a few days."

"."

A large number of tourists came to buy Maher's jerseys, and the hot stamping machine kept working with a clacking sound, without stopping for a moment, and there was a risk of it being scrapped at any time.

Arsenal Football Club responded immediately by changing the store's opening hours from 9am to 5pm to 7am to 10pm, and recruited a number of new employees to assist with the work.

Their peripheral product manufacturers also began to work overtime to avoid supply shortages.

However, this still could not keep up with the buying speed of fans. On May 5, the jerseys were gradually out of stock. Even the hot stamping consumables such as PV/PU were in short supply, and special personnel had to be sent to purchase them.

May 5, Kearney training base, in the team chairman’s office.

Arsenal chairman Hill-Wood, who rarely appears in public due to health reasons, appeared here and called Wenger and other important figures of the team to discuss the future development direction of the club.

The Hill-Wood family has been the chairman of Arsenal for three generations. But no one knows how long he can stay in this position.

"have a look."

He pointed to the documents on the table and looked good, as if he had good news to tell everyone.

Wenger picked up the documents on the table and started browsing through them. Surprise soon appeared in his eyes, and then turned into joy.

4月29日，客流量3.5k，销售额7万镑、4月30日，客流量4.9k，销售额11万镑、5月1日，客流量6.3k，销售额18万镑、5月2日.
This is the traffic data and sales volume of the fan store in recent days, which is the statistical table that everyone has been looking forward to for a long time.

"I thought it would be high, but I didn't expect it to double so much."

Wenger put the file down and said with a smile: "Maybe this sales volume won't last long, but even if it drops a little in the future, it will still be a considerable income to around 150 million pounds per month." Hill-Wood knocked on the table with his knuckles and expressed his thoughts: "Arsenal is a team with long-term brand value. As long as the first team's performance is guaranteed, this data will not decline too much.

"The fans' shop sells not only the club's peripherals, but also business cards and souvenirs of the region. Tourists who don't watch the game will also take some home."

Wenger nodded, acknowledging the estimate and statement, and then waited for Hill-Wood to continue.

Hill-Wood was not in a hurry. He took out another document and handed it to Wenger. "This is the data of Maher's jerseys sold by major retailers in the past few days, including online platforms."

Before Wenger finished reading, he couldn't help but tell the total data, "11 pieces, 3+ a day, very, very amazing. After winning the championship, he set off the entire world of football.

"Total player jersey sales this season have exceeded 30, with sales exceeding £3250 million."

Wenger couldn't control the smile on his face. Although the income was shared by multiple parties, he could already guess that Maher would bring the team more than 2000 million pounds in revenue this season.

"His contract?"

Hearing the other party's question, Wenger raised his head and answered: "The share of this part in his contract is 8%, and our profit should be around 12%."

Hill-Wood nodded slowly, paused for a moment and said, “Perhaps Kroenke’s idea is right. Now it seems that Arsenal has the conditions to become a first-class commercial club.

"In other words, Arsenal, which has Maher, has this condition. The player is not only good at playing football, but also has a good-looking face. Such a star is rare."

He stood up, took out a cigarette and gave it to Wenger, then walked aside to get some water. "Let him deal with his own affairs in the future, and let's do what we should do first.

“The club needs to have a deeper cooperation with Maher and we need to launch more joint products, such as water bottles, socks, etc.

"These are very important. Even though they only cost around £10 each, if they sell well, it is possible for a single item to sell for millions of pounds a year."

Hillwood also wanted to light a cigarette, so he stopped after picking up the lighter. "How much profit do you think is appropriate to give him, provided that the player is willing to accept it?"

Wenger thought for a while and gave a ratio, "50%. Actually, he would accept about 30%, but this offer might wear out the relationship between him and the club."

"Go talk to him."

"it is good."

On May 5th, there is only one day left until the 4th round of the Premier League.

Maher and Mendes went to the Puma branch together and met Orto in the office who was more enthusiastic than usual.

"The champion is here." Orto said enthusiastically. He stood up from the bench and poured water for the two of them. "Coffee or tea?"

"Tea."

"Tea."

He smiled and nodded, his hands busy, and kept saying, "It's a pity that I didn't buy a box ticket for that game, but I watched the whole game from the headquarters, it was a wonderful game.

"Manchester City's defenders can't do anything to Mahel now, they are playing in a very embarrassing way.

"How to defend Maher will be the biggest headache for every Premier League coach and even the Champions League coach next season, haha!"

He flattered them a little, made some tea, and sat down opposite them, smiling, "Puma has paid the players a bonus of 300 million pounds this season, but we remitted the money with a smile.

"The players' accumulated bonuses for the season have exceeded 300 million pounds, which means they have reached the second tier. After the season ends, they will receive an additional bonus of 150 million pounds."

Orto said this, as if he suddenly remembered something, "Oh, by the way, the Premier League Golden Boot and Player of the Season are not included, I almost forgot.

"The prize money for both awards is £100m, but with the tiered prize money it becomes £150m each.

"If I take all of it, it will be another 300 million pounds. To be honest, I am beginning to envy Maher."

Judging from Maher's performance this season, he will most likely win both awards.

By this calculation, the bonus Puma gave to players this season exceeded 750 million pounds, and 500 million pounds without additional bonuses.

Starting from next season, the players' endorsement fees will become 585 million pounds a year. This is an absolutely huge number, a number that no one dared to imagine before.

And Maher is only 18 years old. At this age, he can earn tens of millions of pounds a year just from endorsement fees and salary. This must be incredible and enviable!

Maher smiled heartily, looked at him and asked, "What about the European Cup? If I can get a bonus in this tournament, will it be counted in this season or next season?"

Orto was stunned. He had never really thought about this problem. Mainly because he didn't think that Maher could achieve important achievements and win the prize in the first competition.

Their bonus design is relatively rigid, with only championship and best player bonuses, but no ranking bonuses.

But looking at the enthusiasm in Maher's expression, thinking about the surprises he has always brought to people
Orto suddenly felt that there was hope, and he might really be able to do something in the European Cup!
"What do you mean?" His expression brightened. As a brand, what they fear is that the players will lose motivation and the desire to achieve success and increase influence.

"Next season."

Maher chose to believe in himself. The season was about to end like this, and there was no need to rush for a second-tier additional bonus of 600 million+.

Next season, he will achieve more and may have a chance to challenge the third tier.

Orto could see what Maher was thinking. He grinned, "Okay, okay, okay! Puma likes to work with ambitious players. I believe you can do it! Come on!"

After settling the accounts, he also talked about the topic that the two had been invited to today, "The co-branded sneakers have been designed for a long time, and the players have debugged them several times. There should be no problem with the new version, right?
"We plan to release the sneakers on May 5 and start promoting them in advance. We need to confirm this with you one last time."

"I think it's okay."

Maher nodded. He received the fourth version of the shoes after the championship game. He felt that everything was good and there was nothing that needed to be modified.

"Okay." Orto breathed a sigh of relief. May 5 is the end date of the Premier League. If Arsenal ends the season unbeaten, the traffic of the team and the players should reach its peak.

Releasing it on that day is definitely the best choice, but if the players are still not satisfied and request adjustments, it will be too late.

"We may have to find some time to sign some collectibles during this period. We will first auction the collectibles of sneakers No. 01-10 to promote the fame of this item and increase its value."

Orto made the final confirmation with Maher and also told him the price, “Each pair of sneakers will have 6 color combinations and 3 different models.

"Regular, mid-range, and super-range. Of course, the special edition and collector's edition are all super-range, I'm just talking about the basic edition.

"The prices are 75 pounds, 150 pounds and 240 pounds respectively. The price of the special edition will be determined according to the auction price of the collector's edition."

Maher nodded with interest, and he couldn't help but think back to two years ago when he was worried about a pair of sneakers worth more than 200 pounds, and he was distracted for a moment.

At that time, he probably couldn't have imagined that it would be relatively easy for him to earn 240 million pounds now, right?

Who would have thought that he already owns dozens of different co-branded sneakers?
Time flies so fast that he has almost forgotten how he felt that day. His life is very fulfilling now, with new feedback coming in every day, and he rarely has time to remember the past.

However, by comparing himself with his past self, he realized more clearly what a magnificent journey he had gone through in the past two years.

Maher doesn’t know if he will have the same feeling when he looks back on this day in two years.
After finishing his meeting with Orto, he went to the headquarters of Football Record to meet Peter.

"17.3 and 9.2."

Peter smiled brightly, sitting in front of the computer and showing Maher the backend data, "This is the total number of subscribers after the release of the championship feature film two days ago. We have already achieved our goal ahead of schedule and have surpassed 15 users.

"Subscription revenue has exceeded 400 million pounds, which is an achievement we never thought possible."

Maher looked at the growth curve and asked with a smile, "What about advertising? This should be the biggest source of revenue."

“Not yet.” Peter denied it and explained, “Because the number of viewers of the program is still far behind that of the big TV stations, the advertising prices cannot go up for the time being.

"But we have received some large advertising offers, mostly from football games and betting companies. Their request is to broadcast a program for free and then insert their advertisements in it."

Maher nodded. He understood what these advertisers meant. "I think this is feasible. If the price is acceptable, we can add an extra episode in the middle of the month.

"It's not only for advertising, but also to boost popularity and attract free users to subscribe to the show."

"Yes." Peter agreed with Maher's idea, but he looked embarrassed. "I had this idea, but I never dared to tell you because I was afraid you would ask me to do you another favor."

"It's okay." Maher chuckled a few times, "We need to speed up this process while everyone's enthusiasm for the championship is at its highest point.

"Contact me anytime. If there's a good opportunity, you can get the whole team to shoot together, and then give them some."

"Okay." Peter nodded. Realizing that Maher might go home to prepare for tomorrow's game, he quickly stood up and said, "Maher, this season, the newspaper's after-tax profit may be close to 400 million pounds.

"I, I really..." He was a little incoherent and didn't know how to express himself.

Maher smiled and patted his shoulder, waving as he walked out the door, "This is just the beginning. I will try to make sure Football Records has a good meal during the European Cup.

"Okay, I'm leaving now. Come on guys, and say hello to Emilia for me."

"Okay." Peter looked at Mael's gracefully leaving back, and suddenly a strong sense of satisfaction and joy arose in his heart.

It is a blessing and a source of pride to have the opportunity to work with such people in one’s lifetime!
Sometimes, he would feel a strong sense of disconnection as before, and always feel like he was living in a dream.

Although he and Mahel are spending more and more time together, Mahel is getting better, and his influence and commercial value are increasing rapidly.

Such a superstar actually sits together and chats with him from time to time, and also holds shares in the same company with him.

This was a scene he had never dared to imagine before. Tabloids like theirs were supposed to rely on discrediting popular stars to gain traffic, but working together was simply like going against the grain.

"Deng deng deng"

Soon after, the sound of high heels was heard and a fragrant breeze came, and Emilia arrived.

She was wearing a business suit and looked well-dressed. Then she came over in a hurry, "Where are the people?"

"I stayed for a while and then left."

"Ah" Emilia was a little disappointed. She hadn't met and chatted with Mael privately for some time, and she missed him a little.

"Emilia, do you feel like we've been living in a dream for the past six months?" Peter couldn't help but ask with a smile when he saw someone.

"I did not think."

Emilia answered perfunctorily, and after realizing Peter's seriousness, she replied, "Everything is so intense, how can it be like living in a dream?
"What you want to say may be that life is as wonderful as a dream. I agree with this."

ps: I will resume updating twice a day starting today. I will first update two chapters of 7k to help people get used to it, and then increase the volume gradually.

(End of this chapter)