Chapter 61

Leko and Godo negotiated for two days, and finally both parties reached an agreement.

They signed a five-year professional contract, with a breach of contract fee set at seven million US dollars.

Leko had carefully considered it and believed that in the next one or two years, it would be absolutely impossible for any European club to be willing to pay seven million US dollars for a rookie. So this breach of contract fee was safe.

If a club could really offer this price, then so be it, because who knew if Rongguang would still be worth seven million in a few years?

The biggest problem with rookies is their lack of stability.

He had indeed performed impressively over the past four months, but what about after that?

Who could guarantee that he would always maintain this level of performance?

No one.

So no matter how Leko thought about it, he felt that this deal would definitely not be a loss for the club.

Godo was very confident in Rongguang, so he agreed to the seven million US dollar breach of contract fee. He believed that as long as Rongguang continued to perform at this level, it wouldn't be long before a European club would be willing to pay this amount for him!

Even if no club was willing to pay, by the time the five-year contract expired, Rongguang would still be only twenty-one years old, which is very young.

The contract duration and the breach of contract fee were the focal points of the negotiations.

Once these two issues were resolved, the rest were minor matters.

After signing the contract, Rongguang would receive a weekly salary of 4,500 Brazilian reais, ten times his previous salary! This salary was already at the mid-level in the entire team.

If Rongguang had more than four months of football experience, he could have received an even higher salary.

The contract also stipulated that Rongguang's annual salary would increase by ten percent each year.

In addition to the salary, there were bonuses.

As an offensive player, goal-scoring and assist bonuses were essential.

The contract stipulated that Rongguang would receive a 1,000 reais bonus for each goal and a 500 reais bonus for each assist.

There was also a match appearance fee.

For each match he played, Rongguang would receive a 2,000 reais appearance fee.

This contract was very generous for a rookie who had only played football for four months.

Without considering other bonuses, just the weekly salary alone, Rongguang would earn 234,000 reais per year, which is approximately 93,600 US dollars, or 748,000 Chinese yuan!

***

"Really that much?" Rongguang exclaimed in surprise.

Before signing, Rongguang listened to Godo explain how much he could earn from this contract. When he heard the figure, he widened his eyes and looked at Godo with astonishment.

Leko, sitting beside him, sneered inwardly: Country bumpkin!

However, he only dared to sneer in his heart and would never dare to show his thoughts on his face.

Rongguang was currently in the limelight, and even the club chairman was very interested in him. Leko didn't want to lose his job over a bit of personal grudge—especially since the football director of Corinthians, Edvaldo Simões, had been caught by the media in a scandal involving the rejection of Rongguang and racial discrimination, which had left him in a very awkward position and might even get him fired for damaging the club's image...

Losing his job over such an idiot would be too much of a loss. Leko was still very clear-headed.

Godo nodded: "This is without considering the bonuses. If we include the bonuses, I estimate your annual income could exceed one million Chinese yuan."

Leko continued to mock inwardly: How could there be so many bonuses? Don't dream! Do you think you'll play in every match and score in every match?

"One million..." Rongguang's expression was slightly dazed, his brain almost stopping in response.

What does one million mean?

He didn't even know what one million Chinese yuan would look like if it were laid out in front of him. Not to mention him, but probably no one in his village had ever seen that much money at once.

Even the richest village chief might not have one million.

His parents worked hard outside, and even if they didn't eat or drink, they wouldn't earn one million in their entire lives!

But now, in just one year, he had the potential to earn that much money!

Rongguang increasingly felt that coming to Brazil to play football with Godo was the right choice.

If he had continued to stay in that small mountain village, herding sheep, and then working like his parents when he grew older, he doubted he would ever earn one million in his lifetime.

Or if he had chosen to join the city's track and field team, he definitely wouldn't earn one million in a year.

So even if someone said he was unpatriotic, he would never regret his choice.

With one million, he could make his grandparents' lives less strenuous, so they wouldn't have to work in the fields every day and could let others farm their land.

With one million, his parents wouldn't have to work so hard in Shanghai. They could start a small business—his parents had always had this hope. After supporting his younger brother through school, their ultimate goal was to save money to start a business.

With one million, his sister wouldn't have to work and could do what she wanted, like studying!

With one million, his younger brother wouldn't have to drop out of school after elementary school like him. He could continue his education, and as long as he could study, Rongguang would support him through university. His brother would then become the first college student in the village, how glorious!

With one million, his and his family's lives would undergo a tremendous change.

With one million... Rongguang couldn't think any further.

His mouth was almost watering.

So he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, snapped out of his daydream, and picked up the pen on the table: "Where do I sign?!"

His question was so intense, as if he was about to eat the contract.

Godo flipped open the contract and pointed to the sections for the parties involved: "Didn't you sign before? How could you forget in just a few months? Here!"

Rongguang suddenly realized and patted his head: "I was too happy, I forgot!"

He then laughed.

Leko, seeing Rongguang wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, really wanted to cover his face.

He had signed contracts with many players, but he had never seen such an unremarkable one, truly bizarre!

***

Rongguang's signing ceremony was simple, with no grand ceremony, no club bigwigs like the chairman to witness it, and no media attention.

In the club's meeting room, Rongguang and the football director Leko sat on opposite sides of a long table, each with a copy of the contract in front of them.

Then Rongguang and Leko signed their names on the sections for the parties involved.

They exchanged the contract documents and continued signing.

Finally, Leko stood up and extended his hand to Rongguang: "Congratulations, Rong. You are now a true professional player. I hope you continue to work hard and show us your progress!"

Although he disliked Rongguang and his agent, Leko's surface-level performance was impeccable, except for his somewhat cold attitude. No one could expect him to be enthusiastic about every player he signed.

At the very least, Leko's attitude today was much better than when he signed Rongguang's youth contract...

This was due to Rongguang's actual performance over the past four months.

No red wine, no flashbulbs, no flowers, and no applause.

Rongguang shook hands with Leko, and the signing ceremony was complete.

Then he left with Godo.

Leko, left in the meeting room, looked at the contract in his hand and sneered.

No matter what, he had completed the task given to him by the club chairman.

He no longer wanted to deal with this extraordinary player and agent.

***

Rongguang, sitting in Godo's car, asked happily: "Godo, am I now a professional player?"

Godo was also very happy: "Of course! A true professional player! You have achieved your first goal in Brazil!"

When Rongguang first came to Brazil with Godo, Godo's first goal for him was to become a professional player. Initially, Godo's timeline suggested that, considering Rongguang had never learned football until he was sixteen, it might take him five years to become a true professional player.

But Rongguang's progress was so rapid, it completely exceeded his expectations.

Four months!

In just four short months, Rongguang had transformed from a complete novice to a professional player!

It was too amazing, too unbelievable!

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Godo would never have believed it could happen.

He now increasingly believed that Rongguang was a rare talent, and meeting him must have been guided by God.

He recalled the scenes of meeting Rongguang in that small mountain village, which flashed before his eyes like a movie.

"Can playing football earn money?"

"Sure, a lot of money! Much more than what I'm giving you now!"

"Okay, I'll go with you!"

...

While driving, Godo asked: "Rong, now that you're a professional player, don't you want to go home and tell your family the good news?"

Rongguang hesitated for a moment and then shook his head: "No, I'll write them a letter, but I won't go back."

"Why? Are you worried about the travel expenses? Don't worry, I'll cover them, and you can pay me back double when you become a big star!" Godo said half-jokingly.

The travel expenses were indeed a significant amount of money for Rongguang, who had just signed a new contract but hadn't yet received the new salary.

Godo, who had lived with Rongguang for a long time, had seen his frugality.

Why did Rongguang eat so much at the training base's cafeteria? Because he heard that eating there was free... so he tried to eat enough to skip dinner.

Of course, he was scolded by Godo when he found out, because a future professional player couldn't treat his body like that.

But Godo understood why Rongguang was so frugal.

He had to support his grandparents, parents, sister, and brother... his entire family on his own thin shoulders.

To change his family's fate as soon as possible, he had to be frugal with himself.

Godo had seen many people in Brazilian football who used their abilities to change their families' fates.

So this wasn't unusual.

Rongguang, hearing Godo's joke, still shook his head: "It's not about the money, Godo. I just want to continue training in Brazil. I feel like time is not enough, and going back would take at least half a month, which is a waste of time."

Godo didn't expect Rongguang's answer to be this.

It wasn't about the money, but about improving himself.

After just signing the professional contract, Godo thought Rongguang would want to celebrate. He even planned to take Rongguang out for a good meal to reward him.

But Rongguang was still thinking about training.

Thinking about his previous performance, he had been in Brazil for almost half a year, and apart from training and matches, he had no other knowledge of the country or the city. He had never visited tourist attractions or shopped in high-end malls.

His life revolved around his home, the nearby lakeside park, and the Barra Funda training base in São Paulo.

It was so monotonous that it could drive someone crazy.

But he thrived in this environment.

His mind was focused on improving himself.

Although he had just signed a professional contract, Godo felt that, psychologically, Rongguang was already a true professional player!