Vacation (1)
Barcelona, Champions League champions!
Thanks to Ryu Ha-neul's hat-trick, Barcelona defeated Manchester City 3-1 and claimed the Champions League title. Ryu Ha-neul was selected as the final MVP for his hat-trick... This victory marked Barcelona's sixth Champions League title...
On the other hand, Ryu Ha-neul played 12 matches in the Champions League, scoring 15 goals and providing 7 assists, topping the goalscoring and assists charts...
Ryu Ha-neul, Champions League Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year!
With Barcelona's rising star Ryu Ha-neul (17) winning both the Champions League Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards...
Ryu Ha-neul was selected for the Champions League Team of the Year!
The following is the 18-19 Champions League Team of the Year list.
Attackers: Albaria, Alberta, Chloe
Midfielders: Yelena, Ryu Ha-neul, Alejandra
Defenders: Narcis, Tiana, Sofia, Anila
Goalkeeper: Maximilena
Barcelona fielded seven players for the Team of the Year, including Ryu Ha-neul, Albaria, Yelena, Narcis, Tiana, Anila, and Maximilena, proving they were the best team in the 18-19 Champions League...
Meanwhile, after the Champions League final, Lucia, who had dominated the football world by winning two Ballon d'Ors, announced her official retirement...
Lucia was a legend at Barcelona, having won five Champions Leagues and eleven league titles with the club and two Trebles. Through her precise passing, she led the Tiki-Taka craze in the football world...
In the interview, Lucia said, "Barcelona has many talented players. Especially, watching Ryu Ha-neul's play makes me feel it's time to put down the burden."
Lucia's retirement ceremony is scheduled for the 19-20 season home opener...
Meanwhile, six teams—Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and Juventus—had reportedly made a 140 billion won offer for Ryu Ha-neul's transfer...
Ryu Ha-neul was currently under a four-year contract with Barcelona worth 1.5 billion won per year...
Meanwhile, Ryu Ha-neul had signed an agent contract with the football world's super agency, Georgia Corporation, and his agent...
“So, unofficially, Manchester City offered 250,000 euros per week (about 360 million won), and Paris offered 300,000 euros (about 440 million won). Options are separate. But after considering taxes, the place where Ha-neul would earn the most is Juventus.”
The agent's eyes sparkled with desire as he spoke. It hadn't even been a week since the Champions League final, and he came to meet me, so he must have already calculated how much profit I could make if I transferred, and arrived here.
Of course, my mood with Georgia wasn't great.
Honestly, because of the World Cup, I couldn't enjoy a proper vacation before the season started, so right after the club event celebrating the Champions League win, I wanted to leave for vacation, but because of Georgia, I couldn't even take the vacation.
Yet, hearing that the weekly wage would exceed 4 billion won, my eyes widened without realizing it. My current weekly wage was 30 million won. Although the contract had a few years left, since my transfer fee wasn't particularly high, I could leave anytime I wanted, which made it even more tempting.
Even if my wallet had a lot of Bitcoin, money was still a blessing in disguise. Moreover, since I still had a long way to go to reach my peak as remembered, the weekly wage was important money that could be spent anytime.
“...If I transfer, Lucia might reverse her retirement?”
Moreover, if I announced my transfer, it would be fun to see Lucia, who had announced her retirement just a few days ago, in shock and reversing it.
“Ha-neul seems to be smiling, so it looks like the offer is to your liking?”
“...Well, I wasn't exactly smiling. I just suddenly thought of something funny.”
“Haha. Well, that could happen.”
Georgia's expression sharpened as she smiled business-like at my answer. As a first-class businesswoman, she seemed to sense something in my reply.
And that was likely correct.
I was slightly tempted by the weekly wage talk, but I had no intention of leaving Barcelona.
Actually, in the past, because of my special trait as a man, it would have been difficult to play without Barcelona, but now I didn't have to play only at Barcelona.
With my performance this season, I was confident that any team would adjust my playing style to me.
But still, I didn't want to leave Barcelona. I liked Barcelona. Friends since childhood, Angela like a parent, grandmother and grandfather I could see in an hour, fans cheering for me, this city's weather, this city's food. And the dream I had when I was younger to surpass that person and become the best of Barcelona one day.
Yes, I loved Barcelona.
So, in my previous life, the betrayal was greater, but now it's different. I am now certain that this love is not unrequited.
Money is money in the end.
In my previous life, I earned a lot of money, but when it exceeds a certain level, money is no longer important. It was enough if it was just enough to express my value.
“...It seems you don't want to leave Barcelona either. Ha-neul. You might feel that way now because you're young. You don't want to leave the city you've lived in for over 10 years, your dear friends, your dear colleagues. But there's nothing more important than money in this world. In the end, what remains is money.”
“Georgia, I understand what you're saying. But there's something more important than money.”
“Things like romance, right? I once thought that way too. But in the end, clubs and players are business. Especially for big clubs. If Ha-neul's skills decline, would Barcelona still act like this?”
“So, you mean you're willing to sell me now when I think my value is the highest?”
“...It's not exactly that. But there's a flow in life. Most people miss that flow. And only those who catch that flow can earn money.”
“Georgia seems to think that my skills won't drop no matter what.”
“I won't deny it. Ha-neul is a man, after all. But it's not only that. Barcelona is a big club, but compared to Paris, City, or Real Madrid, it's not as wealthy. And considering Ha-neul's situation where transferring to the Middle East in his later years is difficult, shouldn't we earn as much as we can when we can?”
“Of course, I understand Georgia's words well. But, I want to put more value elsewhere than money. For example, honor or image, things like that.”
“...Is that so?”
“Yes. As you know, I am a man. And the value of being a man is large in my commercial value.”
“That's true. Even last year when Ha-neul wasn't as good as now, the amount and quality of incoming ads were on a different level from female players.”
“However, the image of a man who keeps moving between clubs isn't really good, is it? It's not the man women want.”
“It doesn't seem like we're talking about minors. Haha.”
“Even if you're a minor, you're a pro. Anyway, if I leave Barcelona first, won't the image of a man who only chases money stick to me? Such an image would damage my commercial value greatly.”
“Even if you transfer, you can get more salary than the advertising fees? Moreover, you can hand over those images to me. I didn't want to leave, but the agent who forced the transfer was greedy for money. If you shed a few tears in the press conference, it would solve the problem.”
Even after saying all that, Georgia was persistent. The weight on the other side of the scale seemed quite heavy.
After Georgia said all that, I had to reveal my true feelings.
“Georgia, what is important to me is not money. Becoming the world's best football player, or rather the greatest football player of all time. And the title of greatest of all time isn't about how much money you earn. You have to show something more than money to the fans. Football is a profession that feeds on the dreams of the fans.”
“...I understand what you mean by that.”
As expected, as a super agent handling various star players, Georgia seemed to know what I was saying without needing detailed explanation.
“Think about what it would look like to have the greatest football player of all time with your agent.”
The agent's eyes sparkled at my last words. He seemed to be weighing the value I could get by transferring me and the value from image making.
“...Well, if the player's opinion is this stubborn, there's nothing we can do. After all, the final signature on the contract is up to the player.”
In the end, it's up to the player to decide on the transfer. In South America, there were cases where the agent owned the player through third parties, but Georgia and I were in a completely equal relationship. Or rather, I was the one in charge?
So, Georgia had no choice but to nod at my words.
“However, I agree that we need to sign a new contract with Barcelona. It's not reasonable for the world's best player to only get 20,000 euros to play.”
“That’s natural. I'm sure Barcelona will treat me well too.”
Well, since Lucia retired, the salary will increase a lot, and Angela's policy wasn't big signing, so my salary will probably increase to some extent.
“Then, the next meeting will be when we negotiate with Barcelona's board.”
“Until then, I have to stay here.”
“I’ll make sure to finish it quickly and let you enjoy your vacation comfortably.”
“Thank you. ...Ah!”
“Yes? Do you have something else to say?”
“U, what happened to my football shoes story?”
“Ah, that? Ha-neul's signature ceremony football shoes are scheduled to be released soon.”
As expected, football players need signature football shoes. When I saw the design, it had my back view of performing the ceremony embedded in the football shoe, and I liked it. Has the effect of that ceremony been felt so far?
“Then, see you next time.”
After saying goodbye to Georgia, heading to the dorm, familiar faces who hadn't left for vacation yet were waiting for me.
“Ha-neul! Where did you go, we've been waiting.”
“Well, just a light walk?”
“Cam, are you dumb? Didn't you see the news? At this time, it's obvious it's an agent, right?”
“Fast on the uptake, huh?”
“So, are you going to leave?”
“Me?”
“Be careful when you meet the target.”
“This is scary, I can't go anywhere.”
And one more.
“Yu-ri! You're back?”
Even Yu-ri, who just returned from a loan. Except for Bruna, who left for Brazil for vacation right after the season ended, everyone was gathered in the dorm.
“Ha-neul, I was waiting for you?”
“...Slightly?”
As I said that, Yu-ri, who was teary-eyed, tried to run to me, but Valentina grabbed her. A familiar scene as always. I couldn't help but smile at the corner of my mouth.
Yes, where would I go leaving these guys.