The Contract
“Ha-neul! Here it is!”
“Welcome?”
“You said you were coming to pick me up.”
“Aigoo, it's fine. I'm not a kid anymore.”
“Yeah, Ha-neul. How have you been? It's been a while.”
“Aigoo, it's been a while? Just two weeks ago we were competing together in the tournament...”
“Mom feels like it's been a while even if she doesn't see you for just a day.”
“...Yeah.”
...It's still awkward. In the national team, I meet mom not as mother and son but as team manager and player. Meeting her as mom and son is a bit awkward and uncomfortable.
Because I lived alone in Spain since I was too young?
The time when I was depressed thinking it was doping residue is long gone, and despite knowing that my parents now love me enough unlike in my previous life where they only cared about money, it's still awkward when we meet.
Still, when I go to Korea, there was dad and little brother, so it wasn't that awkward, but when just the two of us, I unconsciously change the topic.
“...How's the sea these days?”
“Sea? The sea is also playing football hard. Recently, Ha-neul, because of you, is causing a big fuss about going to Spain.”
“Now I'm 10 years old in Korean age.... The sea going overseas, dad would be lonely.”
“Yeah, dad said you need to be a middle schooler to do that.”
“What about the national team? You guys promoted to U-20 team, right?”
“National team? Well, as you know, it's a bit of a break time now. That's why I could come here. But there's talk of Ha-neul being selected for the adult national team. If this goes on, we might go to the 18 World Cup?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Well, at that time, mom won't be able to watch anymore though.”
The national team is talking about that kind of thing. Well, if I play some matches like this, going to the World Cup isn't impossible. But to avoid the fuss of 'why is this guy who didn't even play qualifiers going to the World Cup', I need to maintain steady appearances in the league and achieve overwhelmingly dominant results that no one can suspect.
“But then, U-20 World Cup is impossible, right. Bringing a player who has played in the adult national team to the youth national team is difficult. Mom also opposes the idea of me switching between youth and adult teams at a young age, which is like overworking.”
“Probably so.”
“Still, I hope you can go to the World Cup, though.”
“Yeah...”
After the small talk ends, an awkward silence surrounds us again.
“...So, did you get a call from Georgia?”
Mom seems to have sensed the atmosphere and brings up the main topic. The reason she came to Spain even in the middle of her busy schedule.
“Yeah, I thought I should tell you about it, mom.... Thank you for coming.”
Honestly, when I first got the call from Georgia, I thought of meeting her alone. But I'm still a minor. I need the guardian's consent. Angela is my guardian here, but since she's based in Barcelona, I had no choice but to contact mom.
And mom rushed over as soon as she got the call.
“Thank you. Mom has to do something like this.”
Mom speaks with an apologetic tone. The atmosphere is awkward, so we sip the coffee in front of us and get up from our seats. Because the time to meet Georgia is approaching.
Getting in mom's car, we head to the restaurant Georgia reserved, and Georgia greets us.
“Ryu! And little Ryu! Welcome!”
“Nice to meet you. I'm Ryu Ji-hye. I'm also Ha-neul's guardian.”
“Of course, I know. Betis's Korea. Call me Georgia comfortably.”
“Please call me Ji-hye too.”
Georgia is a middle-aged woman with a neat appearance like in the photo, but her sharp eyes contrast with her intimate tone, telling that she's a cool-headed businesswoman.
“Hello. I'm Ryu Ha-neul. Please call me Ha-neul comfortably too.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you. Ha-neul.”
'She'd have trouble pronouncing it, but her pronunciation is fine. Did she practice? She doesn't do anything half-heartedly, does she?'
And Georgia extends a handshake.
Georgia is a figure in the agency world who became a super agent after getting an international lawyer qualification after playing as a pro player in Portugal's third league. Her firm hands say she's from an athlete background.
She's probably still training steadily.
Just seeing that even as a big agent she's busy but still manages her body shows what kind of person Georgia is.
'My agent in my previous life was a chubby uncle who liked drinking.'
In my previous life, the agent I was with was just an uncle who liked money and fun, and I don't know if it was after I became the best player or not, but he was someone who helped me a lot. This woman seems tough.
“Well, follow me.”
“Yeah.”
Following Georgia into the soundproofed room, she greets us again.
“Nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself again. I'm Georgia Hernández. As you probably know, the famous players our company manages are Juana, Alberta, Maximilena, Tiga, etc.”
Juana, the starting striker of Brazil's national team and Paris's starting striker, Alberta, the starting striker of Spain and Man City, Maximilena, the starting goalkeeper of Argentina and our team's starting goalkeeper, Tiga, the starting wingback of Portugal and Arsenal. Players of world-class level who can get over 100 billion won just by name value coming out in the market.
And I know that the players Georgia mentioned are just the tip of the iceberg.
As a super agent, Georgia manages more famous players who use Spanish-Portuguese as their mother tongue, and I remember there was an article that the total transfer fees of the 50 or so players managed by the company exceed 10 billion euros (about 1.5 trillion won).
“And Marisol, who is showing a sensational performance this season at Real Madrid, is also our player.”
Moreover, Marisol, the hottest prospect in the football world right now along with me, is one of the players managed by Georgia. Marisol is a Uruguayan striker, and this season at 18 years old, she took the striker position at Real Madrid and recorded 11 goals and 6 assists in 15 games combined in league and champions, a real talent.
Although Marisol's name value isn't as high as the previous players, by bringing up Marisol's name now, she probably wants to appeal that she can manage even young players.
Of course, mom and I had already investigated, so we didn't show any surprise at Georgia's words. Sensing the atmosphere, Georgia continues.
“Haha, how much Mila contacted Ha-neul to bring him to the company. In training, she said Ha-neul is a better player than I thought.”
Mila was the nickname for Maximilena, our team's goalkeeper. Why did a big shot like Georgia contact me? I roughly got the feeling.
Maximilena is a player ranked in the top 3 if you pick the best goalkeeper. So, Maximilena praised me, meaning I felt attractive. Well, besides that, being the only male player is also attractive.
“Well, shall we start with dinner and talk?”
After Georgia's boasting about her company and how much she wants me, we had light conversation over dinner, and after the meal, we could move to the serious talk.
“We are very interested in Ha-neul's talent. Not only in football skill but also in commercial value. First, the conditions we propose are a basic 2-year contract, renewing every 2 years, 9% of the salary plus the advertising fees we propose, etc. Please read it through and let us know if there are any questions.”
Georgia confidently presents the contract. The contract I looked at had a slightly higher fee because I'm a young player, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. Probably, after the agency contract period ends and I become the best player, it will gradually decrease.
Besides the salary fee, there were many offers like trademark rights, advertising, etc., but none of them were particularly problematic.
However, some modifications were needed.
“Um... I would like to add a few clauses.”
“Yes, Ji-hye. Please tell me.”
“First, if Ha-neul wants, please include a clause that he can refuse advertising, events, TV appearances. Because if I neglect football because of events from the agency, it won't do.”
Mom brings up the story I mentioned in advance. At mom’s words, Georgia's expression hardens slightly. She probably thought of using my commercial value to twist it around.
“Then, it seems we need to change some clauses and ratios. Is that okay? And we need to have the events and ads we want at least a certain number of times a year...?”
“Reduce the number as much as possible... Instead, if a product comes out with Ha-neul's name, some of the rights related to it...”
“Then the ratio would be...?”
Actually, because I had a few thousand Bitcoins accumulated since childhood in my Bitcoin wallet, there was no shortage of money. No matter how much the fee is, does it matter? Well, if I go to Saudi league later, maybe.
Instead, what I want is just to have various annoying things taken care of and help me, so even if the fee ratio increases, I don't particularly mind.
Honestly, rather than the small amount of money, Georgia's name value is more important. With Georgia's name value, it's hard for clubs to ignore me.
“Then this side ratio is like this...”
“The contract is getting more to my liking.”
Fortunately, mom memorized all the conditions I told her on the plane, so Georgia's negotiation didn't require me to intervene.
“Hmm... This should be fine. Then, the contract with Barcelona will be with us, and this meeting can be concluded.”
The meeting with Georgia ended with conditions that both were satisfied after a few hours of discussion, and Georgia smiled brightly as she shook hands with us, pleased with the fee we proposed.
'Well, this way, Georgia will try to get as much salary as possible. And with higher salary, even if Arnal comes back, there's no way she'll put me on the second team at Barcelona.'