16 save. Preparations Are Perfect
[Yorkshire Evening] Leeds Enters Final Countdown for New Owner…….
[Leeds Live] Who Is Massimo Cellino?
The media reported that Massimo Cellino would take office as the new owner of Leeds United. There was no official announcement yet, but it seemed highly likely.
—I wish he'd come quickly.
—Seeing what this guy did at Cagliari, he's not someone worth having expectations for, right?
—No matter what, he can't be worse than Ken Bates, can he?
Ken Bates was the owner when Leeds was struggling with relegation to the third division and bankruptcy.
No matter how much Massimo Cellino treated a manager's life like a fly's.
The Leeds fans were hoping for an owner who would at least invest properly.
"Is this the place."
Meanwhile.
While Leeds was in an uproar over its new owner.
Sin Uison stood before the location displayed on his smartphone and raised his head.
It was the right destination.
Without a private car, the places Sin Uison could go were limited, and therefore the places where he could make appointments were also limited.
[Could it really exist?]
"…If that wasn't a lie, that is."
Ding-a-ling.
The bell hanging on the door shook.
The shop was a typical cafe.
"Welcome."
"Ah, I have a party who arrived first……"
"Over here."
Then a man's voice rang out deeply.
A man raising his hand toward Sin Uison with a smile.
He was the person Sin Uison would meet today.
Jorge Mendes.
A big shot in European football, otherwise known as a super agent.
"Pleased to meet you."
"Ah, pleased to meet you. Sorry I'm late."
"No. I just arrived myself, so no need to worry."
Mendes didn't lose his relaxed smile. To Sin Uison, that appearance was quite fascinating. What was fascinating was that this meeting itself was like that.
Who would have imagined that the world-famous Mendes would come all the way here to meet him?
At first, he had wondered if it was a prank call.
"But what do you need from me……?"
"Haha. There's only one reason an agent meets a player."
To the question thrown out just in case, Mendes firmly revealed his intention.
Right. That Mendes had contacted him because he wanted to sign a contract with him.
"Honestly, I'm a bit taken aback. Right now, I'm just a goalkeeper for a second-division team."
"That's right. 'Right now,' you are. But I highly value your potential."
"Why is that?"
"I watched the recent match between Man United and Leeds."
Mendes's eyes gleamed.
"It was an astonishing thing. To the point where saying you stood against Man United alone wouldn't be wrong, you were shining."
Mendes raised his voice.
"Yes. Your potential is not at the level of merely a second division. You suit a much bigger stage! How could I let such a person slip away?"
Those words were overflowing with passion.
It somehow captivated people.
Sin Uison found himself focusing on Mendes's words without realizing it.
[Get a grip.]
'Ah.'
At the voice waking him up in his head, Sin Uison suddenly came to his senses.
What was that just now? If he had kept listening, he almost would have signed the contract as is.
Sin Uison, composing himself, asked.
"If I hire you, what exactly can you do for me?"
"Hmm. Specifically."
Mendes scratched his chin at Sin Uison's calmer-than-expected reaction. Meaning he couldn't be easily swayed to his will.
"There are two things."
He held up two fingers.
"First is going to the Portuguese League, where my influence is strong."
"Portugal?"
"Yes. The league level, the fact that you can participate in European competitions, and it's the best condition for a prospect to gain experience."
Sin Uison could somewhat relate to those words.
There had actually been quite a few players who grew after gaining experience in the Portuguese League.
Especially, there were many cases where players experienced failure in the big leagues and then made a comeback in the Portuguese League.
"The other is Valencia."
"Valencia? You mean that Valencia in Spain?"
"Yes. That's the team I mean."
But how?
As if to resolve that question, Mendes continued.
"Just as Leeds is now, Valencia is likewise scheduled to have a new owner take office. Peter Lim is his name, and he's quite close to me."
Mendes said that if a new owner took office, he could exert quite a lot of influence.
"But I don't really recommend it."
As he just said, the Portuguese League and the Spanish League have a clear difference in level. There would also be a difference in adapting to it.
"Step by step, accumulate experience at a Portuguese team that plays in the Champions League, and then move on to a bigger club."
"……."
[What do you intend to do?]
Sin Uison didn't answer right away.
The plan Mendes presented certainly piqued his interest.
Furthermore, he gave confidence by backing it up with his own capabilities.
But precisely because of that, it wasn't something to decide right this moment.
"I see. Then you may give me your answer later."
"Is that alright?"
"Yes. If applying pressure would yield a good answer, I would do so, but you don't seem to be the type."
Mendes shrugged his shoulders and stood up. Putting his coat back on, he put on his hat and gave a slight bow.
"Because of my flight time, I'll be going now."
"Ah, take care."
"Oh."
As Mendes was about to leave like that, he stopped for a moment and looked back.
"You don't need to feel burdened by my proposal. It's been a while since I've seen a player like you, so I got excited without realizing it."
And most of them became great players.
What kind of goalkeeper would this Sin Uison be.
Mendes smiled slightly and opened the door.
Ding-a-ling.
With the sound of the bell shaking, Mendes's figure disappeared.
But not long after.
Ding-a-ling.
As if he had been waiting, one person entered.
He was a very fat man. Wearing sunglasses, he sat down very naturally in front of Sin Uison.
"What was that old man saying? Well, it was probably obvious and boring, no doubt."
"Ha, ha."
Sin Uison laughed awkwardly at the man's venomous words.
Did he not get along with Mendes?
Or perhaps he was trying to elevate himself by putting Mendes down.
The man before him was certainly in a position to do so.
Mino Raiola.
Following Mendes, who had held the seat until just now, another man likewise called a super agent.
He had received contact from Raiola not long after his call with Mendes ended.
In other words, the men called super agents had contacted him simultaneously.
'Agents who were like devils to clubs and fans, but to players, there were no better angels.'
[The gap is greater than the two sides of a coin…….]
The voice trailed off as if glaring at Raiola.
As those words said.
Raiola was an agent adept at creating chaos through media play and playing hardball, extracting the maximum profit from it.
Therefore, from the standpoint of those being used in that chaos, he couldn't be liked.
However, from the players' standpoint, it ultimately raised their own value.
Many players preferred Raiola, whose abilities were outstanding one way or another.
"Hoo!"
Raiola, who had ordered a cold drink even in this winter, moistened his throat once and opened his mouth.
"Good. What I'll propose is a bit different."
"You know what conditions Mendes offered?"
"Well, probably the Portuguese League, Valencia that guy's been scheming with lately, blah blah."
He was exactly right.
Raiola snorted and put the straw in his mouth once more.
The drink in the transparent cup disappeared quickly.
"But that's not what you want, is it?"
"Then what?"
"You want to get away from your parents' influence, right?"
Sin Uison's hand flinched.
Sin Uison put down the mug he was holding and answered quietly.
"You know even that?"
Sin Uison scratched the bridge of his nose.
To be honest.
He was a little, no, quite surprised.
Because no one had directly poked at this issue until now.
"Well, I have many clients at West Ham too."
It was certainly an answer befitting a person called a super agent. Among West Ham's personnel, there must be a few who knew his situation.
"But isn't that something possible through Mendes as well?"
As Sin Uison said, a person of Mendes's caliber wouldn't be unable to settle matters with his parents.
"But he probably can't do it as cleanly as me? And if you want, I can also tie it up much more dirtily."
In an instant.
A fearsome sense of pressure was felt from Raiola as he said those words.
Where in this sluggish body did such momentum come from?
Sin Uison licked his dry lips briefly and shook his head.
"I don't want revenge."
"You don't? Well, you might change your mind later."
The pressure disappeared at those words.
Only then did Sin Uison revise his evaluation of the person before him.
Some called him a pig blinded by greed, but he wasn't called a big shot for nothing.
"It seems."
Raiola continued.
"You don't want to leave matters with your parents to others. Right?"
Sin Uison didn't answer. But that was practically an affirmation.
This was a problem he had to settle himself, not leave to others.
However, it was a subject too uncomfortable to reveal to someone he met for the first time today, and Raiola, noticing this, quickly changed the subject.
"Let's change tactics. What did that Mendes guy say?"
"It was roughly similar to what you just said."
"Hmm. To be honest, what he suggested isn't a bad method. But."
But.
Raiola, taking off his sunglasses, spoke curtly.
"A player's career is short. No matter how much player lifespans have increased recently, it doesn't take long for people to erase you from their heads."
If you're forgotten by people as you go to the Portuguese League.
Perhaps it might take a long time to be in the spotlight again.
"Isn't it the same even in the second division?"
"It's different. Right now, you are one of the most famous goalkeepers in England. Because this Rose War was quite the topic."
Once you become a topic, it isn't difficult to grow that fame.
Raiola's words implied as much.
"For now, I recommend staying at Leeds."
"At Leeds, you say?"
"Yes. On the premise that you get promoted this season. Ah, one more of this, please."
Slurp.
Having already finished his drink, Raiola stirred the ice with his straw and ordered another glass.
"Well, it doesn't really matter even if you don't get promoted, because by then teams wanting you will be flooding in."
"You're confident?"
"Heh, that's obvious!"
Raiola laughed loudly as if he had heard something amusing.
"I've rolled around in this business for a long time and seen countless pebbles that only shine on the outside and rough gems hidden within. Then I more or less developed a feeling for it."
There's a reason most decent prospects have either Mendes or Raiola as their agent.
An eye for players.
Or instinct.
This time, two super agents had come drooling over him first.
What was before him was no different from a gem hidden in mud.
"That you will shine before long."
"Why are you so certain?"
"I've seen all your records, Shin. The start may have been nothing special, but with this level of growth, the story changes."
People don't know about the training ground in his dreams.
But that growth could be confirmed.
Raiola had confirmed this strange growth.
And gained one conviction.
"Perhaps you might stand even higher than your brother."
"…….!"
"And I assure you, I will drastically shorten that period."
Countless thoughts flashed through Sin Uison's head.
The Champions League.
The stage of stars.
And.
Brother.
Mendes and Raiola are both great agents. What they say is probably not empty talk either. But he can't hire both agents at the same time.
He had to choose one.
Sin Uison's fingers, which had been tapping the table, eventually stopped.
He had decided.