Becoming a football god from Arsenal

Chapter 90: The first endorsement contract?! Wenger is exhausted! [25]

On February 2, Mendes made a special trip from Lisbon, Portugal to Sheffield, bringing with him two endorsement offers.

The two met at the place where they first met. As soon as they met, Mendes praised Maher's recent performance, his face was full of brilliance: "It's incredible that you have maintained that magic until now.

"I have never seen a second-tier league player receive several offers for commercial endorsements."

He took out two contracts from his bag and shook them in his hands: "A sports drink brand in London, and a start-up sportswear company in Sheffield."

“You have an endorsement now?”

Maher was quite surprised, as he had thought that he would get a similar contract at least after he arrived in the Premier League.

"Don't be happy too early."

Mendes did not hand the contract to Maher, but put it back into the briefcase, shook his head and said: "These two endorsements are only for one year, and the total endorsement amount is 40 pounds. I picked these out of the best.

“With the platform you are on and the level of influence you have, it is basically impossible to get a large contract.

He took the opportunity to encourage: "But like I said before, if you can lead Sheffield United to the Premier League, everything will be returned to you double, including the commercial value.

"If you can ride on that wave of popularity and make a name for yourself at Arsenal, your influence could make it into the top 20 in the Premier League."

"So should we sign or not?" Maher listened to him, but this was still unclear.

"Sign it."

Mendes looked calm, he didn't think there was any hesitation: "It's a short contract of one year, and they are basically start-ups, there is no public relations risk, what's wrong with making money for free?
“Although I don’t really need this, this”

Seeing that his ability to do quick calculations was a bit poor, Maher guessed what he was going to say and reminded him, "6 pounds before tax?"

Mendes looked at Maher with a little surprise, and continued: “Yes, although I don’t need it, I think you must need this money at the beginning of your career.

"Besides, going through the endorsement process earlier can give me some exposure to the industry, so I won't be at a loss when approaching big brands in the future."

Maher said he understood, and then asked innocently, "Can you not smoke this time if you don't need it?"

"what"

Mendes was in a dilemma. He stood there awkwardly: "Rules still need to be followed. Actually, it's okay. I really don't care about these things."

"I'm just kidding." Maher laughed out loud. After Mendes laughed awkwardly twice, he gradually returned to normal.

“There’s no rush to sign.”

He patted his bag, meaning to put it away for himself first: "I talked to the one in London before coming here, and the price increased by 5 pounds. I will talk to the one in Sheffield this time.

“You play for Sheffield United and are more popular in the city than the mayor of Sheffield, so they should agree.

"My psychological expectation is that the two families will be worth about 50 pounds. After tax, you should get it."

Mendes looked at Maher for help, and Maher added: "25.5 pounds is also a lot of money."

What Maher appreciates most at this moment is not the money, but Mendes' sincerity and dedication to him.

It's really not easy for such a big agent to come all the way here just for such a small amount of money.

"Also, I'm doing what you said."

Mendes brought up a new topic and smiled, “I have the contact information of the best private doctors in Madrid, London, Lisbon, Milan and other cities.

"But Sheffield United doesn't have it. Obviously, you want the best, but Sheffield United doesn't have the best. There's no rush. Let's finalize it when we get to London.

“As for operating private media accounts, this is a complicated task, and my suggestion is that Facebook should operate it itself.

"The operator's thoughts may not be in sync with yours. Sometimes, making mistakes in replying to comments may affect your future."

He rubbed his hands and smiled: "For other countries, you can let Mendes Agency handle it.

"We have a large number of people and experience in this area. We will simultaneously open all social media platform accounts with a certain scale around the world, send messages every day, and urge you to shoot blessing videos on holidays to attract traffic."

"I have no opinion."

Maher took out his phone, clicked on the Instagram app, and handed it to Mendes. "Mr. Mendes, take a look at this page. This app has been on the market for a few months and has already attracted more than 100,000 registrations."

Mendes took it, swiped and clicked a few times, his eyes lit up: "Not bad, is it because of the novelty? Why do I feel more comfortable than Facebook?"

He discovered a business opportunity. “With over 100,000 users in just a few months after launch, it has great potential.

“I have to advise you that you should be one of the few celebrities who have registered for this software. If you have a chance, you can contact them and see if you can reach some cooperation.

"Some start-up platforms will use the fame of small celebrities to drive the number of registrations. If they can get some shares, it's still good."

Maher nodded and took note of the suggestion. He certainly knew that Instagram would become extremely popular in the future and would have a very high market value.

But if he wants to invest in such companies, it is actually not easy.

They often find specialized private equity funds, large conglomerates and investors to conduct A, B, C and other rounds of financing.

Not only will we look for money, we will also leverage the personal connections and other resources of these large investors for development.

Mendes' proposal gave him a way to use his existing influence to contact the company.

He came down and decided to give it a try to see if the other party would reply to him.

It would be wonderful if a new company has its own shares while developing new accounts.

"See you in a few days. Even though the contract is small, there are still a lot of procedures. I may have to go back to Portugal in the middle of it."

After dinner, it was already evening. The two parted on the street. Mendes got into a business car in a very cool manner and waved to Maher.

Maher also waved at him. In their daily interactions, Mendes was slowly gaining his favor.

One of his advantages is that he does not show off his abilities and leaves professional matters to professionals.

Because of this, he gradually gathered around him some people who could help him. This was quite good, as it always made him feel that he was making progress in many aspects and that the future was promising.

On February 2, Sheffield United faced a tough opponent at home - Reading, who are currently ranked fourth in the league standings and have the same 16 points as them.

Before the game started, Maher always felt that someone was looking at him among his fellow players.

Turning around, he saw Reading's captain, Sean Long, staring at him with a serious face, as curious as if he wanted to cut him open.

He didn't care, adjusted his breathing rate, and prepared to step into the arena full of passion and uncertainty.

"."

"Tough confrontation! This is Sean Long, he pushed away Quinn and shot the ball into the blind corner! !

"He waited for a moment, until the defender rushed over and opened up a little shooting angle, and then he shot! A top-level striker in the Championship, I am looking forward to his performance in the Premier League!"

"."

"This is Mark Yatsky, he's on the edge of the penalty area, moving forward! Mills can't retreat any further, it's dangerous unless he can block the shot!
"Oh! With a clever push, the ball passed through Mills' crotch and rolled towards the goal. The goalkeeper was unable to make an effective save against the ball that penetrated the defender's small gate!

"One to one! With an assist from Maher, Makoates jumped onto Maher's back. They are competitors, but it seems their relationship is not bad!"

"."

"Griffin!!
"The heavy shot hit the target, Robert had to admit that he was getting old! He no longer had the bounce and reaction he had when he was young!

"Reading is back in the lead! Two to one!!"

"."

“The situation was very tense and we didn’t know which side would score first. We had to stay calm and avoid making mistakes.

"A long pass! In the middle, Gilbert is moving upwards and he is at the landing point!

"Mael went straight behind the opponent's defense! He seems to know Gilbert very well. Will he go behind?

"Got it! Gilbert touched the ball, and the ball flew towards Maher's path. Mills was having a hard time keeping up, and he might give it a try and crash into Maher!

"Mael stumbled a few steps! Mills fell down!! He had a one-on-one chance, could he get past the goalkeeper like before?

"Take a step forward, lower your shoulders! Federici has lost his balance, Maher is facing an empty goal, and he pushes the ball!!

"A beautiful goal! 69-! In the th minute of the game, Maher scored a crucial goal!!"

The whole stadium cheered, the home fans clapped and shouted for them crazily, and many media photographers also moved.

A reporter standing next to Sean Long used Long's shoulders and head as the background, focusing on Maher running to the sidelines and sliding on his knees, and took a classic photo in this round of the Championship.

In this photo, people can guess Sean Long's envy and complicated feelings at the moment from his back as he slightly raises his head to look up at the sky.

"31-! The battle for third and fourth place in the st round of the English Championship ended in a draw, an acceptable result for both sides!" - Sheffield Evening News

February 2, Emirates Stadium.

"Yeah!!"

As the whole stadium erupted in deafening cheers, more than 50,000 Arsenal fans stood up from their seats, some waving their arms and cheering, and some clapping their hands wildly.

Wenger, wearing his unzipped cotton jacket, jumped out of the bench to celebrate, and the entire Arsenal team went crazy at this moment.

Just because they defeated Barcelona, ​​the top Dream Team with Messi, at home!
Arshavin, who scored the winning goal, ran around the field, still retaining a trace of the "Tsar" power.

Guardiola, who had just completed the achievement of six championships in 09, gritted his teeth and squeezed his face to express a little regret. After hugging the players, he turned his attention to Arsenal's lineup.

Fabregas, wearing the No. 4 jersey, was so conspicuous and so coveted that they actually had a chance to sign him at the beginning of the season.

Fabregas seemed to feel his call. He turned around and, ignoring the more than 50,000 Arsenal fans who were celebrating, gave a hidden smile.

Wenger noticed this, and his expression immediately changed from excitement to calm, and then slowly to gloomy.

After walking into the player tunnel with the players, the excitement of winning the game just now basically disappeared. He turned around and looked at the figure who deliberately slowed down his pace, "Fabregas, walk faster."

"Oh."

Fabregas nodded and quickened his pace, but he glanced to the left and saw the hints from Pique and Xavi.

"The shoe laces are untied."

He stopped, squatted on the ground to untie his shoelaces, then slowly tied them up while paying attention to Wenger's steps.

When he saw the other party standing at the door of the locker room and hesitating for a moment, his heartbeat slowed down. Fortunately, Wenger finally stepped in and closed the door.

Fabregas looked around to see if there were any hidden cameras, then put on a smiling expression and walked quickly towards the two men.

More than ten minutes later, he slowly felt something was wrong and returned to the locker room.

What greeted him was dead silence and unfriendly looks from all the players. Wenger was standing in the center of the locker room and just turned around with his arms folded.

It was obvious that Wenger asked everyone to wait for him. No one said a word and there was silence for more than ten minutes.

"I went to the toilet." Fabregas didn't want to lose face, but Wenger's repeated indulgence made him gradually accustomed to such embarrassing situations.

"I'm proud of you." Wenger turned to the others, turned around and picked up a pen, ready to write something on the tactical board to summarize the game.

But when he raised his hand, his mind was in a mess and he didn't write anything for a long time. Finally, he let his arm drop and stood there with his head down.

It's strange, they obviously won.

　There are three more chapters to go, and I will finish writing them one by one!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)