After Paris Saint-Germain was removed from the list, I led England to victory!

The fireworks at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium had long since faded, and the World Cup trophy was lifted high by the French team.

But the aftershocks of the 2018 Russia World Cup are still reverberating throughout the global football world.

With the tournament concluded, FIFA's various individual awards are being announced one after another.

The Best Goalkeeper award was unsurprisingly given to Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

He made numerous brilliant saves throughout the tournament, playing a crucial role in Belgium's fourth-place finish.

The winner of the Golden Globe Award in December has sparked widespread discussion and anticipation.

Croatia's midfield maestro Luka Modric has become the hottest candidate for the Ballon d'Or thanks to his masterful control of the game, tireless running, accurate passing, and leadership in leading Croatia to a historic final appearance.

Fans and media overwhelmingly support him, believing he deserves the trophy that symbolizes the best player in the tournament.

However, the final official results will not be announced until the Golden Globe Awards ceremony at the end of the year.

The other two major individual awards.

[World Cup Golden Boot Award] and [Best Young Player Award]

They undoubtedly belong to the same person:

Arsenal's number 7, England's number 17, the most expensive transfer in the summer of 2018 (£1.58 million), and an 18-year-old English-Chinese prodigy, Yan Yuan.

When FIFA officially announced the result, the world's attention was once again focused on this young man.

He stood on the podium, holding the Golden Boot trophy, symbolizing the World Cup's top scorer, in one hand and the Best Young Player trophy in the other, with a humble yet confident smile on his face.

The photographer captured this historic moment.

18 years old! Three Golden Boots in a single season!

Moreover, these are gold boots with extremely high gold content!

This achievement was like a thunderclap in the football world!

Last season's Bundesliga Golden Boot, Champions League Golden Boot, and now the most prestigious World Cup Golden Boot!

At just 18 years old, with English citizenship and Chinese background, Yan Yuan has created a legendary record that is unprecedented and unlikely to be repeated in the near future!

He not only broke the record for the youngest Golden Boot winner in World Cup history, but also firmly grasped the Golden Boot honor with an indisputable 8 goals.

The Best Young Player award is a double affirmation of his outstanding performance and enormous potential in this tournament.

After the award was confirmed, praise from the media and fans poured in like a tidal wave:

"Arsenal's number 7, England's number 17, a three-time Golden Boot winner at just 18 years old!!"

"This is the youngest Golden Boot winner in World Cup history! And the only player to win three Golden Boots in a single season—Yan Yuan is writing a new legend!"

"A new king is born! Yan Yuan and Mbappe together forge a new era of 'two superstars'!"

Yes, "The New Twins".

This title quickly became a frequently used term in global sports media after the World Cup.

The French team, and PSG's key player Kylian Mbappé, are both young (19 years old) and both scored in the World Cup final, helping France win the championship, demonstrating unparalleled speed and impact.

Yan Yuan of England, a Golden Boot winner and core player of the Three Lions, is technically versatile, possesses superb shooting skills, and also has enormous potential in the Chinese market.

The two are like rising twin stars, and are widely regarded as the "new duo" who will dominate the football world for the next ten years or even longer!

This expectation is directly reflected in the players' market value.

Following the World Cup, the authoritative German transfer market website quickly updated its player valuations.

Mbappe's market value has soared from €1.5 million before the World Cup to a staggering €1.8 million!

This is already at the highest level in history.

However, what is even more shocking is the updated net worth of Yan Yuan.

His market value skyrocketed from €1.8 million before the World Cup to €3 million!

This number instantly ignited the global football world!

€3 million!

This goes far beyond what people realize about a player's market value!

The transfer market website provided a detailed explanation, with a dedicated page from the transfer market analyst revealing the breakdown behind this "€3 million price tag":

First, there's Yan Yuan's intrinsic value (2 million euros), which is the core of his worth.

Yan Yuan won the Golden Boot in three consecutive top-level competitions (Bundesliga, Champions League, and World Cup). At the age of 18, he scored 8 goals in the World Cup, winning the Golden Boot and Best Young Player award. His finishing ability, game reading ability, ability to withstand pressure in big games, and huge potential for improvement have reached the level of the world's top strikers.

This 2 million is the highest recognition of his current strength and future potential. This net worth is very convincing and uncontroversial.

Secondly, there's the premium on Yan Yuan's English citizenship (2500 million euros), which those in the know understand.

Finally, there's Yan Yuan's Chinese background and the potential of the Chinese market (7500 million euros).

In terms of the Chinese market, Yan Yuan has a unique and unparalleled huge advantage!

Behind him stands China, one of the world's largest fan and consumer markets.

His Chinese heritage, standard Northern Mandarin accent, and handsome Chinese appearance have generated a huge craze among Chinese fans, signifying immeasurable commercial value and brand influence.

It's no exaggeration to say that...

This is a unique attribute that no other top star like Messi, Ronaldo, or Mbappe possesses.

This 7500 million is a quantitative reflection of its enormous market value.

……

When the figure of "3 million euros" and detailed analysis reached Arsenal's headquarters at the Colney training ground in London.

A deathly silence fell over the high-level conference room, followed by a tremendous gasp and uncontrollable elation.

CEO Ivan Gazidis held his tablet, staring at the glaring "€300M" on the screen, his fingers trembling slightly.

He looked up at the equally shocked club president, Kroenke, and the finance director, Sanllehi:

"My God... 3 million euros? This... this is insane! We only spent £1.58 million (about 1.8 million euros)! And this is only a few months?! Not even two months, and he hasn't even played a single game in the Premier League!"

Kroenke took a deep breath, trying to calm his turbulent emotions. He looked at Professor Wenger, who sat silently in the corner, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and said:

"Professor... I finally understand why you were so insistent back then, even going so far as to use the entire transfer budget to sign this kid... Your foresight... it's simply..."

Kroenke couldn't find the right words to describe it.

Professor Wenger wore a calm and gratified smile, as if everything was going as expected.

He pushed up his glasses and said, "Kroenke, Gazidis, I've said it before, Yan Yuan's value goes far beyond scoring goals on the field."

His talent, his age, his background... especially the Chinese market behind him, is a huge treasure trove that we have never truly explored.

When I signed him, it wasn't just for the sake of competition; it was a strategic investment for the next ten years or even longer. Looking back now, our "big gamble" has paid off far more than we expected.

Gazidis nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement.

"This is more than just exceeding expectations! We've struck gold! Gentlemen, look at this!"

Gazidis pulled up another report and said.

"The club store's latest sales data! Yan Yuan's 'YAN 7' home jersey sold five times more than all other players' jerseys combined during and after the World Cup!"

Before the season even started, his jerseys had already sold 60 units, and they were sold out worldwide! They couldn't even keep up with restocking!

Scarves, hats, training uniforms… all the merchandise with his number and name on them sold out! The official website servers crashed several times! Also, our official social media accounts in China saw their follower count surge by 800% during the World Cup! Interactions were dozens of times higher than before!

Sanley added.

"Not only that, our marketing department has just received several letters of intent for sponsorship from top Chinese companies! The offers are... extremely attractive. These Chinese companies have only one core requirement: as long as Yan Yuan is at Arsenal, their sponsorship fees will be paid."

A collective gasp filled the conference room once again.

Gazidis was deeply moved.

"Tsk tsk... Now I finally understand why Mr. Yan was so unyielding about Yan Yuan's portrait rights at the negotiating table, insisting on taking 70%!"

He shook his head with a wry smile.

"At the time, we thought he was asking for too much and that it was too unfair for the club to only take 30%."

In hindsight... we were far too short-sighted! The 30% image rights revenue Yan brought to the club, in absolute value and at a faster growth rate, is probably far greater than the combined 80% revenue of all the other players on our team! It's practically turning lead into gold!

Kroenke leaned heavily back in his chair, his face showing immense satisfaction and boundless anticipation for the future.

"Professor, here's what we'll do. Yan Yuan is currently on a short leave. Once he returns to the club, we'll immediately restart negotiations. A weekly wage of £19 is a huge disrespect to Yan Yuan's abilities and commercial value, and the £2 million release clause is a ticking time bomb. I guarantee that some clubs will challenge that release clause! Especially those Middle Eastern oil tycoons!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," the professor nodded and said.

……

After the World Cup ended.

Yan Yuan returned to his home in London and began a short rest.

Meanwhile, his father and agent, Mr. Yan Zhenan, has officially entered the busiest and most exciting "harvest" season.

His son shone brightly at the World Cup, winning three Golden Boots at the age of 18, and his value soared to 3 million euros, making him one of the world's most watched "new duo". This gave him unprecedented bargaining power.

Without exception, all the brands that had contacted Yan Ba ​​before the World Cup re-signed their cooperation intentions.

And the prices have almost doubled or even more!

Yan's father remained calm and composed. He carefully considered his son's personal wishes (Yan Yuan himself became famous in the Bundesliga, so he preferred German brands), whether the brand's image matched, and most importantly, maximizing market potential and commercial value. He then began a meticulous selection and negotiation process.

After several rounds of fierce competition and deliberation, a series of astonishing endorsement contracts were finally finalized:

[Adidas]: They offered Yan Yuan a 5-year contract, with the basic endorsement fee increasing to 3000 million euros per year.

In addition, Adidas promised to create a signature "Y7" boot line for Yan Yuan and provide him with a substantial sales commission (expected to bring in millions to tens of millions of euros in additional revenue annually). Adidas is not only interested in Yan Yuan's influence on the field, but also in the vast Asian and global markets behind him.

Mercedes-Benz offered a 3-year contract worth €2400 million (€800 million per year). Choosing a German luxury car brand aligns with Yan Yuan's background in the Bundesliga and reflects his high-end image. Mercedes-Benz hopes to leverage Yan Yuan's significant appeal among young people and in the Asian market.

[Huawei]: A 3-year contract worth a total of 4500 million euros (1500 million euros per year), this is one of the most strategic and significant collaborations.

As a Chinese tech giant, Huawei values ​​Yan Yuan's Chinese heritage and the local market affinity and global influence he brings. The high contract amount also reflects the Chinese market's recognition and respect for Yan Yuan's commercial value.

【Calvin Klein】: 3-year contract, total value of €1200 million (€400 million per year). CK was attracted by Yan Yuan's young, handsome, healthy, and energetic image, as well as his growing global fame.

[Red Bull]: A 3-year contract worth a total of €1200 million (€400 million per year). Red Bull consistently sponsors athletes with strong personalities and a pioneering spirit, and Yan Yuan's performance at the World Cup perfectly aligns with the brand's image.

There are also many contracts with online platforms.

[Douyin]: Before the World Cup, they offered Yan Yuan $1000 million to join their platform, but Yan Yuan's father refused. After the World Cup, their offer doubled to $2000 million! They hope that Yan Yuan can consistently update his personal videos.

Microwave was equally unwilling to be outdone, offering a $1700 million entry fee to compete for the "traffic bomb"'s voice on Chinese social media.

[Tengzi]: A domestic gaming giant purchased Yan Yuan's image rights for 1000 million euros annually, to be used for character skins and image endorsements in its popular games (such as football games, MOBAs, and even shooting games). The commercial value of the virtual world is equally enormous.

Yan's father is a seasoned businessman, and his business acumen extends far beyond simply negotiating contracts.

He knew that after his son became famous, various infringements and trademark squatting would inevitably emerge.

So he and his team quickly registered all the core trademarks related to his son in major global markets (especially China, Europe, and North America):

For example, "Y17, YY7, YY17, YAN7, Yan7, Yan17," and so on, all related to Yan Yuan's personal name and number.

It even includes Yan Yuan's signature goal celebration gestures, such as the Tai Chi single whip graphic trademark.

These trademarks cover multiple categories, including clothing, footwear, sporting goods, electronics, entertainment, and GG.

Yan's father built a solid legal moat to protect Yan Yuan's future business empire.

When Yan's father compiled the finalized endorsement contracts, along with Yan Yuan's salary at Arsenal (£19 per week, approximately £988 million per year, roughly €1000 million), image rights revenue sharing (Arsenal returning 30% to Yan Yuan personally, plus his own 70% of operating income, etc.), he found that Yan Yuan's father was responsible for all of them.

Yan Yuan's annual income (before tax) will easily exceed 1 million euros!

Specific composition estimate:

• Club salaries: €1000 million

(At this time, Yan's father was unaware that the factory was going to raise his son's salary.)

• Profit share: €1000 million

• Endorsement income (based on basic annual fee only):

Adidas: €3000 million/year

Mercedes-Benz: 800 million euros per year

Spending: €1500 million per year

CK: 400 million euros/year

Red Bull: €400 million/year

Subtotal: €6100 million/year

• Online platform onboarding fee (calculated on an annual basis):

Douyin: 1800 million euros (2000 million US dollars ≈ 1800 million euros)

Microwave: €1500 million (US$1700 million ≈ €1500 million)

Tencent: 1000 million euros/year

Subtotal: 4300 million euros

Other (game revenue sharing, event appearance fees, etc.): ~1000 million euros (conservative estimate)

Total: 1000 million (salary) + 1000 million (profit sharing) + 6100 million (endorsement) + 4300 million (online) + 1000 million (other) = 1.34 million euros!

This figure is only a relatively conservative estimate.

Adidas' sales commission, potential performance-based bonuses, and more new endorsement deals in the future could all cause this number to inflate further!

At 18, Xiao Yan's annual income exceeded 1 million euros.

This is not only the pinnacle of a football player, but also one of the top sports stars in the world.

Yan Yuan used his three Golden Boots on the football field to open the door to a business empire for himself.

(The female lead will appear in about ten more chapters. Here's a preview: it's still a single female lead, and she's a strong female lead type. She's capable, not just a pretty face, and she's very helpful to the protagonist's career. She's also an alumna of the male lead's school, so the romance between the two will be quite interesting.)