Chapter 22 Ronnie's Dream
Change broker?
This matter is big and small at the same time.
The agent is in charge of the player's business and has great power in many aspects, especially after signing a series of contracts. For example, Soviet idol Ronaldo has been exploited by two agents for a long time, and former Real Madrid player Anelka was also cheated by his two agent brothers.
As for small matters, they are also quite small, because if the players want to change their agents, it is just a matter of a word. If there is no contract dispute, it can even be done by sending a fax.
For example, Su Dong’s contract with his agent expired long ago, the other party didn’t contact him, and he was too lazy to get involved with the liar.
"Why change?" Su Dong was very surprised. "I remember your agent was José Vega."
José Vega is one of the most famous agents in European football today. His most successful move was planning the century transfer of Figo from Barcelona to Real Madrid. Although various rumors are heard everywhere, as Figo's agent, José Vega must have played a key role and made a lot of profit.
Not only that, José Vega can almost be said to have omnipotence in Portuguese football. Almost all big-name stars are under his command, and he maintains very good and close business relations with various teams.
For example, Sporting Lisbon's three rising stars, Quaresma, Marcelino and Ronaldo, are all Vega's players.
Su Dong had even thought about it before. If he really needed an agent in the future, he would contact Jose Vega's company through Ronnie, and then entrust their company's agent to act as the agent.
Of course, Su Dong couldn't even think of letting Jose Vega act as the agent himself.
So now, when Su Dong heard that Ronnie was going to change his agent, he was also surprised.
"Isn't he the best agent in Portugal and even in European football?" Su Dong asked.
Ronnie nodded, "Yes, but I don't think he cares about me at all."
Su Dong didn't respond because he realized that what Ronnie needed at this moment was to talk.
"Me, Marcelino and Quaresma are all his players, but you can see that Marcelino and Quaresma are in the first team, but I am still in the youth team. I have looked for him before and told him that I want to be in the first team, but he not only did not help me to make a request to the club, but comforted me and told me that I was too young."
"A few days ago, something happened in my family and I needed money. I told him that I wanted to ask the club to renew my contract. I was over 16 years old and I was not very satisfied with the contract. I believed that as long as I made a request, the club would agree, but he didn't take it seriously at all."
It can be seen that the dissatisfaction with Jose Vega has been going on for a long time.
José Vega is such a big shot that there are even rumors that the chairman of Sporting Lisbon has to make an appointment in advance if he wants to meet him.
It is conceivable that such a big-name agent would not take a small character like Ronnie seriously at all.
On the contrary, it is a rising star like Quaresma, who has long been well-known in Portugal, who is the one that José Vega strongly supports, for example, giving him the title of Figo II.
"Have you contacted a suitable agent?" Su Dong asked with concern.
Ronnie nodded. "Indeed, someone contacted me. He used to be a partner of Brazilian agent Figel, but now he has started working on his own and has set up his own agency with his own channels. His name is not as famous as José Vega, but I feel he should be a very capable person."
"But if we do this, we will offend Jose Vega," Su Dong reminded.
Who is José Vega?
He is a tycoon in Portuguese football who has everything under his belt. The presidents of the three major clubs all show great respect to him. He almost takes charge of the business of most Portuguese players going abroad to play football, which is also the most profitable business in Portuguese football.
Some even say that he earns more than those clubs.
If you offend such people, you often have to pay a price.
Ronnie nodded. He was not stupid. On the contrary, he was smart. He knew the risks, so he was worried.
"Please wait patiently. If you are in urgent need of money, I don't have much, but I still have some. You can take it first." Su Dong said generously.
After hearing this, Ronnie nodded gratefully towards Su Dong and said, "Thanks, brother."
After a pause and a long exhale, he said, "It's my dad. He drinks every day when he opens his eyes. His health is getting worse and worse. I want my sister to take him to Lisbon for treatment."
Su Dong immediately thought of the middle-aged man who passed out drunk in the living room that morning.
"Did you see him that day?"
Su Dong nodded, "We really need to go to the hospital."
"My mother told me that he was not like this originally. She married him because he was hardworking and honest, and gave her a sense of security. That's why she was willing to marry him. But she didn't expect that after he went to Africa to fight in a war, he became a completely different person after returning."
Su Dong was born in a peaceful era and could not understand the cruelty of war, but he could imagine the blow and impact that his father's complete change had on Ronnie's family.
"Many people in our area laughed at him, saying that he was late for his son's baptism because of his drinking." When Ronnie said this, a smile appeared on his face. "But you know, the first gift in my life was a football. It was his birthday present to me. Although he never said it, I know that he likes watching me play football."
"When I was still playing football at National Sports, he was drunk all day and unreliable, but he was never late when picking me up, rain or shine."
"When I was training inside, he always stood outside the wire fence and watched me play football silently. As long as I performed well, he would smile at me. At that time, he was not drunk at all."
By the end of his speech, Ronnie's eyes were red.
He probably had never said these words to anyone before, but today he confided them to Su Dong.
"My mother loved him very much, but she was also a miserable person. My grandmother died very early. She was abused by her stepmother and sent to an orphanage, where she was tortured. She escaped when she grew up and met my father after going through untold hardships. She originally thought that she would be able to escape from her miserable life, but she didn't expect..."
"My mother said that the family was very poor and miserable at the time. We didn't have enough food to eat. We already had three children. When she was pregnant with me, she even thought about having an abortion several times. Someone told her that drinking boiled dark beer would make her wish come true. She really drank it, but ended up making herself dizzy."
Ronnie sighed helplessly, a bitter smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.
Su Dong couldn't imagine how he felt at this moment, but it was not easy at all to talk about these things.
"In order to send my second sister and me to school, my sister and brother dropped out of school very early. My sister worked as a waitress in a hotel in a tourist area, and my brother first worked in an aluminum products factory and later in a paint store. He was often bullied, and he always said that he wanted to make himself stronger. Gradually, he made some friends who could help him become stronger."
"You've been to Falcao Village. I believe you've seen it, right?"
Su Dong didn't hide it and nodded.
"Some people say that Madeira is the spring that God left in the world. People outside always think of this island as extremely beautiful, but they never know that in the eyes of people like us, this island is like a huge prison."
"Growing up, they told me that there are only two kinds of people on this island: either Madeira is everything to them, or they want to escape from Madrid and explore the outside world."
"The former are born on the island, grow up, get married, have children, and grow old. Slowly, they become like everyone else on the island, drinking and taking drugs, doing nothing day and night, while the latter, once they leave, never want to go back."
There is no doubt that Ronnie wants to be the latter, but it is very difficult.
"You said that your ambition is to be a professional player, but my ambition is not just to be a professional player. I want to make more money and buy a house for my mother in the tourist area of Madeira Island. Having a house of her own is her greatest wish in life and her dream for many years."
"My brother wants to open a paint company and hire all the brothers who were bullied by the paint store owner. This was the promise he made to them. My second sister said that she wanted to release a record and become a singer. She always felt that she had a talent for singing. As for my eldest sister, she said...she had never thought about it and didn't dare to think about it."
Su Dong listened silently .
It was obvious when he was on Madeira Island that his family placed all their hopes on Ronnie, and he himself had such awareness and responsibility, which should be the driving force behind his hard work in playing football.
The so-called geniuses are actually forced out by the shitty life.
"So, I want to replace José Vega, even if it will offend him, but I have to do it because he doesn't take my thoughts to heart at all. In his eyes, these are just trivial matters."
Only then did Su Dong realize how determined Ronnie was to change his agent.
"Take your time, don't worry." Su Dong patted Ronnie's shoulder comfortingly. He couldn't empathize with Ronnie's situation, but he was willing to provide help within his ability . "The most urgent thing now is to get your father treated. I have some money here, you can use it first."
Ronnie nodded gratefully to Su Dong.
Although the two have only known each other for a few months, they feel like close friends who have known each other for many years .
Perhaps, this is a kind of fate.
"There's no need to say thank you. Let's go and continue practicing. I believe that as long as we have the strength, we won't be afraid of not getting another opportunity!"
Su Dong really believed what his ancestors said: as long as you work hard, you can grind an iron rod into a needle.
Opportunities always come to those who are confident, just like Quaresma's success against Porto.
Without strength, you won’t be able to seize the opportunities even if they are in front of you.
Ronnie also exhaled heavily, collected himself, stood up from the ground, pointed at Su Dong, and "threatened": "Today, I will make you crawl out!"
