Volume 1: Playing football with me will break your legs Chapter 39: Don’t you even want to give me 10 bucks?
September 30th.
11 a.m.
As soon as the training class ended, Li Boluo hurriedly changed his clothes and came to the office area.
The door wasn't open at all, and no one was visible through the glass windows.
Li Polo waited for 10 minutes before he saw Powell walking towards him, taking out his key and opening the office door.
Better late than never, the general manager finally did not let himself down.
Li Polo breathed a sigh of relief and quickly greeted the other party:
"Good morning, Mr. Powell."
Powell motioned him to sit down:
"Young man, you should ask your agent to discuss the contract with me."
Li Polo shrugged his shoulders:
“I don’t have an agent.”
What a joke, my basic salary for a week is only 300 yuan, not even enough to book a room twice, how can I hire an agent?
- Of course, agents are also divided into different levels. Players in lower-level leagues are not unable to hire agents. For example, when Akinfenwa was 18 years old, he had an agent to help him arrange the transfer and went to Lithuania to play football for a weekly salary of 100 pounds.
Powell raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly:
"OK, let's get straight to the point. I asked my secretary to retrieve your statistics for this season. Seven goals in nine games, which is simply outstanding for a defender. Especially in the game against Milton Keynes, you scored the winning goal. That game was particularly impressive to me."
It is always a pleasure to be praised, and Li Polo was not modest:
"Thank you. I think I can do better once I fully integrate into the team."
Powell gave a meaningful smile:
"I also look forward to that day coming as soon as possible. Regarding your contract, after careful consideration, I agree to make changes to the relevant terms. I have drafted a preliminary revision proposal, you can take a look first."
He handed over a document with the key terms of the contract printed on it.
The basic weekly salary increased from £300 to £500.
The appearance bonus was increased from 20 to 30, and the goal bonus and clean sheet bonus were also increased by 10 yuan respectively.
However, the contract period was extended from 2 years to 5 years, which is obviously exploitative.
"How about it?"
Powell smiled sincerely:
"Your salary has almost doubled in all aspects."
Li Polo shook his head:
"Double? That's because the starting price of the first contract was too low."
Powell's expression did not change:
"The club has always had regulations on wages. You have just joined the team and your resume is very simple, so we can't give you a maximum salary contract directly, but... if you have specific requirements, we can certainly discuss it."
Business negotiations are essentially no different from bargaining at a street stall, with sellers asking for exorbitant prices and buyers paying them back. In most cases, the anxious party tends to be passive.
But Li Polo was obviously unwilling to waste time here.
He frowned and stated his price directly:
"Akinfenwa is our first striker and his weekly salary is 2,000 pounds. As a defender, my goal scoring efficiency is not much lower than his. I want 1,500. Isn't that too much?"
"1500 weekly salary?"
After Powell confirmed it, he quickly shook his head:
"You have to know that apart from Akinfenwa, no one in the team earns more than the figure you mentioned. For example, Mark Phillips, the oldest player in the team, only earns 1,300 a week. Oh, sorry, I shouldn't tell you about other people's income."
[But you revealed it anyway.]
[It's just a way of telling me that I can't get more than Phillips! ]
Seeing the ugly faces of capitalists, Li Polo decided to try another approach:
"Wimbledon made me a professional player, and I have always been very grateful, so in the past two months, I have been playing every game with 100% of my efforts. Mr. Powell, since you have watched the game between us and Milton Keynes, you should know that in order to win, I broke the leg of their midfielder Dele Ali and then scored the winning goal. In the League Cup match against Manchester United, it was also me who restricted Kagawa and Januzaj, which led to the final 4-0, wasn't it?"
Powell certainly would not deny these objective facts:
"Dear Polo, I know all this, and I very much hope to continue to see your outstanding performance. But a weekly salary of 1,500 is indeed beyond the financial capacity of the club."
He smiled self-deprecatingly:
"We are not a big team. The salary budget for the entire first team is only 750,000 pounds, and Akinfenwa's salary alone is more than 120,000 pounds. We certainly cannot accept another high-paid player."
Of course, what he said was not false, but Li Polo also knew that capitalists would always think that workers got too much.
So he was ready to end the conversation:
"I understand the situation, so let's try something else. How about keeping the two-year contract and paying him £1,000 a week?"
From the initial 2000, it was reduced to 1500, and then to 1000... Powell was a little surprised at his big concession.
However, Li Polo added:
"In contrast, I hope that the bonus setting can be more closely linked to my actual performance."
Powell quietly grinned, quickly calculated a few numbers on the computer, and finally nodded:
"The appearance bonus is increased to 50 per game, 30 for wins and clean sheets, 50 for assists, and 100 for goals. If you can be selected into the best team of the relevant competition, you will be rewarded... 500 pounds. If you can accept it, we will sign the contract now, and all the terms will take effect from October 1st."
His expression was extremely sincere:
"This is our greatest sincerity. If we hadn't won against Manchester United and earned the team some extra income, I would never have easily changed the contract for a new player."
【Just bully the weak! 】
【How stingy! 】
[The appearance fee has increased from 30 to 50. How much more money can this cost the club? ]
Li Polo couldn't help but complain in his heart.
But he still accepted the proposal. After the staff handed him the printed new contract, he only took a look at the few changed clauses and signed his name immediately.
There's nothing he can do, he's just too poor!
…
After stamping the club's seal, Powell smiled with satisfaction.
According to his calculations, the club will certainly make a profit from this new contract.
His assistant had communicated with the coaching team in advance. He was well aware of Li Polo's abilities and even knew about some conflicts that had occurred between Li Polo and Fuller, Smith and others.
But it doesn't matter. He doesn't care about the secrets in the locker room , nor does he intend to stage a game of thrones. He just needs to know that this player always gives his all in the game and even fights for his life for his position.
This is enough.
He shook hands cordially with Li Polo and did not forget to give him a sweet date:
"The Mad Gang needs brave tough guys like you, I really mean it."
Then he saw Li Polo also laughed:
"Thank you, Mr. Manager. By the way, can you lend me some money? I'm almost going crazy now."
The corners of Powell's mouth twitched violently.
I just praised the other person, and now he comes to borrow money?
As a senior executive of the club and a successful person of status, how could I turn my back on someone?
Fortunately, he was quite experienced in this kind of thing and provided a solution immediately:
"If you are really short of money, I can talk to the finance department and allow you to advance a few months of basic salary, up to the entire season."
[After all, they are still capitalists! ]
With the mentality that something is better than nothing, Li Polo nodded without hesitation:
"Thank you, Mr. Powell!"
…
Since you've asked to borrow money, don't be shy.
It was almost 12 o'clock when I walked out of the finance office.
Li Polo, who had advanced the entire season's salary in one go, finally felt confident.
From October to May, a total of 8 months and 242 days, calculated as 34 weeks, he received a total of 34,000 pounds, which is almost equivalent to the average annual income of ordinary British citizens. This is undoubtedly a huge sum of money.
He clenched his fists as he carefully stuffed his salary card into his wallet.
[Hurry up and make a name for yourself!]
I don’t want to torture the club for a 10 yuan appearance fee anymore! 】
