Chapter 59: Chapter 38: Wang Shuo’s Happy Troubles

“We’ve made a critical mistake!”

Outside Bruch Road Stadium, after warmly interacting with the fans, Mainz Chairman Strutz and General Manager Heidel met in Head Coach Klopp’s office.

Heidel, deeply regretful, admitted to a major blunder in his work.

“To this day, we still haven’t signed Wang Shuo to a contract!”

“Why not?” Strutz asked, astonished.

Klopp, standing to the side, said calmly, “He’s not 18 yet.”

In Germany, clubs can only sign players to a professional contract once they turn 18.

Of course, where there are rules, there are ways around them.

Clubs had many ways to circumvent this, such as setting up a contract in two stages: one before the player turned 18, and one after.

A major reason why Arsenal was able to poach Fabregas in ’03 but couldn’t get Messi was because Messi had signed such a contract with Barça. To force a transfer, they would have had to pay a massive compensation fee.

“Wang Shuo’s rise has been too fast!” Heidel admitted that he had truly been careless.

Looking back now, it was a truly inexcusable oversight.

The main reason was that the Mainz management never imagined Wang Shuo would blow up so suddenly.

His form got better and better with every match.

Before, you could say he didn’t have much of a reputation.

But now?

In the crucial promotion clash, he scored one goal and made two assists, helping the team secure a comeback victory away at Cologne.

“Tomorrow, all the major media outlets will probably report on this. The Bundesliga teams are sure to get wind of it, and we’ll be at an even greater disadvantage.”

Klopp reminded his good friend with a grave expression.

Heidel was kicking himself. “I’ll call Thomas Essien in a bit.”

“I heard Bayern has been keeping an eye on him, too,” Strutz said with a frown.

In Germany, any player targeted by Bayern, no matter who, basically never got away.

No one could refuse Bayern!

“He’s already rejected Bayern once before.” Thinking back on it now, Klopp was still a little surprised.

But he really admired Wang Shuo’s character, especially his decision to reject Bayern.

“Is that so?” Strutz was even more surprised.

“He rejected Bayern because both he and Thomas Essien felt he wouldn’t get any playing time there. But that might not be the case with other Bundesliga teams.” Even so, Heidel still felt they couldn’t afford to be careless.

He had already made one mistake by underestimating Wang Shuo; he absolutely could not make a second one.

Wang Shuo’s professional contract wouldn’t officially take effect until September, but that didn’t stop the team from signing it with him in advance.

The key question was, what kind of salary should they offer him?

Mainz was genuinely poor.

After their relegation from the Bundesliga, their finances would have long since collapsed if not for the successive sales of Zidane and Friedrich, which brought in nearly ten million euros, and the departure of several high-wage players on free transfers, including Gorbe and Niculae.

Right now, the highest-paid player on the Mainz squad was Kalhan.

The veteran midfielder was originally a starter for VfL Wolfsburg, but as he got older and his form declined, he fell out of favor at Wolfsburg.

After coming to Mainz, his annual salary was 1.5 million euros.

This was already Mainz’s highest salary bracket.

Players like captain Nowitzki and Marco Rose were also in this bracket.

But there were exceptions.

For example, Boakye.

In January of ’08, Mainz loaned the striker from Wolfsburg, not only paying a 100,000 euro loan fee but also covering Boakye’s entire salary, which was also 1.5 million euros.

But as everyone saw, Boakye made 10 appearances in the second half of the season, playing a mere 500-odd minutes, scoring one goal and providing one assist.

That deal was a huge loss!

But that’s how transfers are; you can’t profit on every single one.

For Mainz right now, there were pros and cons.

The good thing was that many players, including Kalhan and Nowitzki, were older. Even if the team got promoted, there was no need to renew their contracts with a raise.

With the club’s revenue increasing significantly, their financial situation would be much more comfortable.

The bad news was that the squad would be, on average, another year older.

“Jurgen, what do you think?” Heidel looked at Klopp.

The most important thing was how Klopp envisioned Wang Shuo’s role.

“This kid’s rate of improvement is incredibly fast. Based on his current performance, I think we can have high hopes for him in the Bundesliga next season.”

Strutz and Heidel exchanged a glance, and both could sense the surprise in the other’s eyes.

Klopp was planning to use Wang Shuo as a first-team player, not just one to be developed for the future.

’A 17-year-old, 18 at most, starting in the Bundesliga?’

Looking at Wang Shuo’s current performance, though, it seemed reasonable.

“But I have one condition,” Klopp said, looking seriously at the chairman and general manager.

“Name it. If it’s within our power, we’ll do our best to make it happen,” Strutz declared on the spot.

For Mainz at this moment, the most important thing was keeping Klopp.

“I want to sign a Bundesliga-level midfield playmaker.”

The first person Heidel thought of was Zidane, who was currently underperforming at Hamburg.

The Egyptian player was one of Klopp’s favorites.

Sure enough, the first name Klopp mentioned was Zidane.

“Zidane from Hamburg, Misimovic from Nuremberg, Hainauer from Karlsruhe.”

“I also heard Bayern is looking to loan out Tony Kroos. If we really can’t sign any of the first three, we could also try to get Tony Kroos on loan.”

“The Portuguese midfielder Petit from Benfica is a free agent right now. We could consider him as well.”

Heidel couldn’t help but smile wryly.

He knew Klopp’s personality and had already expected this.

“None of these players will be cheap. Zidane transferred to Hamburg last year for 6.5 million euros. If we want to buy him back now, Hamburg’s asking price will definitely be high.”

“Misimovic is being watched by a lot of big clubs, so he might not be willing to come here. Hainauer is probably the most likely.”

Tony Kroos would be a loan and Petit is a free agent, but their salary demands are sure to be high.

Heidel let out a long, helpless sigh.

You can’t make bricks without straw!

Even if Mainz fought its way back into the Bundesliga, the situation still wouldn’t be optimistic.

“By the way, how is Marco doing?” Heidel asked with concern.

Marco Rose hadn’t been on the team bus when it returned.

“He was sent to Frankfurt overnight. The situation doesn’t look good.” Klopp felt a pang of bitterness as well.

Heidel took a deep breath and clapped Klopp firmly on the shoulder.

“Leave these headaches to me. I’ll do my best to raise the money. You just focus on leading the team. In the final round, we must beat St. Pauli!”

Klopp nodded resolutely.

Everyone, including Klopp himself, knew that a small club like Mainz couldn’t hold on to a big-shot manager like him for much longer.

In fact, if Bayern hadn’t chosen Klinsmann, Klopp would have already booked his train ticket to Munich.

There was only one reason he chose to stay.

He was the one who had led Mainz into the Bundesliga, and it was under his watch that they were relegated.

Now, he was going to lead Mainz back into the Bundesliga and re-establish their footing!

As for winning the title?

For a team like Mainz, who would dare to even dream of it?

…

That evening, while Wang Shuo was browsing Chinese news sites and forums, smugly enjoying the flood of reports about him, he received a call from his agent, Thomas Essien.

“Since the match ended, I’ve gotten calls from four different clubs!”

Thomas Essien said he’d never been in such high demand.

Even back when he was a player, he was never this popular.

“Wang, you’re really making me look good!” Thomas Essien was grinning from ear to ear on the other end of the line.

But his next sentence completely shattered Wang Shuo’s impression of him.

“I’m more and more impressed with my own eye for talent. I knew you were a genius from the first moment I saw you, and now… Haha…”

On his end of the line, Wang Shuo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He really wanted to poke his agent in the temple and tell him: ’Do you really think I’m where I am today because of your “eye for talent”?’

’It’s all because I have a cheat!’

“Anyway, Heidel called me to schedule a meeting about your contract renewal. What are your thoughts?” When it came to business, Thomas Essien’s tone turned serious.

“Has Klopp decided to stay on?”

“As long as the team gets promoted, he’s staying.”

Wang Shuo understood the situation. “Then go ahead with the negotiations. The most important thing is playing time.”

With the Ball God System, as long as he kept playing in matches and accumulating Passive Value, Wang Shuo could continuously improve.

’As for which team I go to, does it really matter?’

Although he hadn’t known him for long, he could tell that Head Coach Klopp had his own distinct tactical philosophy.

Wang Shuo was quite familiar with it, and it suited his style.

Therefore, staying at Mainz to lie low and develop was the wisest choice for now.

“As for the annual salary, I’ll fight for the best deal for you. My current thinking is to get you on the same tier as Subotic, at least.”

“Subotic?”

That was actually a good benchmark.

Also young, also performing well.

Subotic had solidified his spot as a starter for a whole season and performed brilliantly.

Wang Shuo, on the other hand, had only recently shot to fame, but his performances were just as eye-catching.

Although his rise was more recent, Wang Shuo was a forward, which naturally gave him an advantage.

After entrusting the contract negotiations to Thomas Essien, Wang Shuo entered the Ball God System.

He currently had 17 Passive Value points and one Passive Skill Card.

Wang Shuo currently possessed five Passive Skills.

They were: Regional Level [Breathing], Regional Level [Ball Sense], Professional Level [Insight], Professional Level [Swift], and the Special Skill [Damage Reduction].

As for his other Active Skills, he had basically maxed out all the ones he could.

His offensive Active Skills, such as Passing, Breakthrough, Dribbling, and Shooting, were all basically at the Professional Level.

Wang Shuo’s current dilemma was whether to use the Passive Skill Card in his hand to draw a new Passive Skill, or to strengthen an existing one.

In the match against Cologne, especially during that final sprint to score the goal, Wang Shuo had exhausted every last bit of his energy.

That was the first time he had ever felt like that.

’Once I’m in the Bundesliga, will that feeling become even more intense?’

His seemingly endless stamina was Wang Shuo’s greatest advantage right now, but upgrading [Swift] to the Regional Level would also give him a huge boost.

Then again, gaining an additional Passive Skill would also be a very significant improvement.

So, which to choose became a happy dilemma.

’I’m seriously short on Skill Cards!’

However, after a moment’s hesitation, Wang Shuo decided to use it to draw a new Passive Skill.

Because he had the [Damage Reduction] buff!

He had already decided to undergo intensive special training this summer.

’If it doesn’t kill me, I’ll train like my life depends on it!’

He was going to do everything he could to raise his fundamental level this summer.

With the boost from his Passive Skills, every point of improvement to his fundamental level would be a massive help.

Therefore, by comparison, drawing a new passive skill was the most cost-effective choice.

Wang Shuo’s most obvious weakness right now was his physical strength in challenges.

And his left foot.

After coming to Germany, Wang Shuo discovered something very strange.

There was an absurd number of two-footed players in Germany; you could say they were everywhere.

It made a player like Wang Shuo, with his half-useless left foot, seem like an anomaly.

If he could draw a skill that strengthened his physical challenges or his left foot, the improvement would be huge.

With that thought, Wang Shuo no longer hesitated. He directly used the Passive Skill Card to draw from the giant football.

When the football stopped spinning and the system pushed the information to Wang Shuo, he was completely stunned.

His luck wasn’t great; he hadn’t drawn the passive skills he wanted for strengthening physical challenges or his left foot.

But the passive skill he did draw was also incredibly powerful.

’What the hell!’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep