Chapter 43

Rod's information was accurate and without error.

Lin Sen did not have to wait long. Soon, he received a call from Aguilar: Malaga had decided to sign him, but there were some details that needed to be discussed in person. Since Lin Sen did not have an agent, he would have to negotiate his contract in person.

On Monday, May 26th, Lin Sen returned to Malaga. This time, the meeting took place in the headquarters of Malaga Club, and the attendees had changed.

Xiao Sans did not appear this time. Along with the authorized Aguilar, a younger Spaniard appeared, who seemed to be not much older than Lin Sen. He introduced himself as Livermore-Aguilar.

Aguilar? Lin Sen's heart stirred, but the elder Aguilar quickly clarified Lin Sen's doubts. Livermore was his son. Livermore's current position was the team's transfer advisor, and before that, he was supposed to be the sports manager. The reason for this change was precisely what Aguilar referred to as some "details." In fact, this "detail" was the only requirement Lin Sen had in their previous meeting: transfer rights.

Malaga had agreed in principle to give Lin Sen transfer rights, but clearly, they still wanted to retain some control. Therefore, Aguilar proposed a seemingly beautiful plan: within the budget, the general direction of transfers would be decided by Lin Sen, meaning who to buy and who to sell would be up to him. However, the detailed operations would be handled by Livermore. In other words, Lin Sen would only be responsible for the strategy, not the execution.

As soon as this proposal was made, Lin Sen knew that the other party had misunderstood his intentions. Malaga probably thought that Lin Sen wanted to be a Premier League-style manager, trying to manage everything in detail. However, what Lin Sen wanted was to turn the often insignificant advisory role of the head coach in traditional Spanish transfer affairs into a decisive role.

Lin Sen's idea was very simple: if he was to be a chef, he must decide what ingredients to use and what to discard. As for whether he would personally handle the buying and selling, Lin Sen did not really care. As for Aguilar's thoughts or the deeper implications of this move by the Malaga management, Lin Sen did not want to delve into them. It was probably about kickbacks, commissions, and other underhanded dealings. The football industry has its bright side, but it also has its dark side. Regardless of the depth of the water, Malaga was afraid that Lin Sen would get involved, but Lin Sen himself was not keen on it.

Therefore, Malaga's proposal was, in fact, exactly what Lin Sen wanted.

Who would want to spend all day observing players from all over the world, receiving transoceanic calls from scouts in the middle of the night? Before coming here, Lin Sen, who was still a bachelor, was even worried that once he decided on transfer targets, he would have to spend the whole summer flying around. Now, it seemed that someone had volunteered.

Of course, transfer rights are a very broad concept. From identifying targets to negotiating transfers between clubs and personal contracts, everything is crucial. While the decision-making power sounds easy, the actual execution is the key. Therefore, Lin Sen still needed to confirm some details with Aguilar.

One of Lin Sen's main concerns was whether there were any privileged players in the team. This not only related to the team's restructuring for the new season but also to the stability of the dressing room. Lin Sen did not like the role of privileged players, and no coach really did. Atletico Madrid had a privileged player, Aguero. In Aguero's case, not only were major decisions like selling or renewing his contract out of the head coach's hands, even his playing time could be interfered with by the club's management. If the privileged player was easy to get along with or met the tactical requirements, it would be fine, but otherwise, no coach could tolerate it. Fortunately, Aguilar's answer was straightforward: no. This meant that Malaga had no non-transferable players. It seemed that Malaga had already made a decision on this, otherwise, Aguilar, who was only authorized, would not have answered so decisively.

In addition, Lin Sen requested the right to be informed of the progress of transfer operations and to make suggestions on bids. Lin Sen's reasoning was that others did not have his memory, and he could not explain his targets in detail. To avoid the situation where all the hard work ended in failure, Lin Sen wanted to ensure that his targets could be smoothly acquired. However, this made Aguilar somewhat hesitant, as it seemed to Malaga that Lin Sen's request was a form of monitoring.

This time, it was Livermore, who had been quiet all along, who gave the answer. He smiled and said it was completely fine.

Since the actual executor, Livermore, had agreed, and Lin Sen's request did not conflict with the club's intention to give him decision-making power, Aguilar quickly nodded as well.

With the two most important issues resolved, the rest were not obstacles. Lin Sen then asked some more detailed questions about transfer rights. After Aguilar's answers satisfied him, he finally nodded to accept the "amended" transfer rights.

As for the personal contract negotiations, since Lin Sen had already stated that he was not demanding, the difference in annual salary was not significant. Malaga originally offered a two-year contract with a post-tax annual salary of 200,000 euros, with bonuses based on team performance, divided into five levels: staying in the league, mid-table, European competition, Champions League qualification, and league championship. The bonuses increased from 50,000 euros, doubling for each level. If Lin Sen could achieve his boast of leading Malaga into European competition, he would receive a bonus equal to his annual salary. As for the league championship, the bonus was as high as 800,000 euros. Clearly, no one believed Lin Sen could achieve this, not even Lin Sen himself. For the only cup competition, the Copa del Rey, the bonus structure was similar, with the bonus doubling for each round, starting from 20,000 euros for reaching the round of 16. The only difference was that if the team reached the final, Lin Sen would receive a bonus equal to his annual salary, regardless of whether they won or lost.

Lin Sen had no objections to the annual salary and bonuses. Malaga was still fair. Although Lin Sen had stated that he did not mind being demanding about his salary, the annual salary offered by Malaga, while far from what top coaches received, was not bad compared to other clubs of similar stature, and was roughly on par with what he had earned at Atletico Madrid. The only thing Lin Sen had an issue with was the contract duration. Lin Sen proposed a 1+1 contract, meaning a one-year contract that would automatically extend for another year if both parties agreed.

Aguilar did not fully understand Lin Sen's thinking. He had thought that Lin Sen would be dissatisfied with a special clause in the contract: if the team was in the relegation zone at the halfway point of the season or suffered five consecutive losses, the club had the right to terminate the contract unconditionally.

But now, Lin Sen's objection was to the contract duration. Although Aguilar was just a club advisor, having been with Malaga since the 1980s, he understood the pros and cons of a 1+1 contract better than Lin Sen. A 1+1 contract, in essence, was a one-year contract. For the head coach, the advantage was the right to choose whether to stay or leave after one year. However, the same logic applied to the club.

Therefore, Aguilar, who was already inclined to favor the second-team coach Tapia, saw the 1+1 contract as more detrimental than beneficial to Lin Sen. However, he had no reason to reject Lin Sen's request.

When the contract was finally confirmed, Aguilar realized that they could not sign it today. Contract negotiations usually took more than a day or two, and Aguilar had not expected that they would reach an agreement in less than two hours. The formal signing of the contract required the presence of the club president, Xiao Sans.

After hearing Aguilar's explanation, Lin Sen understood. The formal signing of the contract would be arranged for the next day. After that, Lin Sen would theoretically have his personal holiday. Since the season had just ended, everyone was on vacation, including the players and coaches. This included Tapia, who was also a candidate for head coach and would become Lin Sen's assistant coach in the new season. This appointment was made by the club, and Lin Sen did not object. As a bachelor, he indeed needed someone familiar with the team to help him, and Tapia was the best choice. Meetings with other members of the coaching staff would be delayed.

However, a holiday is a holiday. After signing the contract, Lin Sen would begin preparing for the new season as the head coach of Malaga. His first task was to quickly formulate a plan for the team's restructuring, and then it would be up to him and Livermore to handle the details.

Lin Sen did not immediately return to Madrid but stayed overnight at a hotel arranged by Malaga Club. He would temporarily stay there until he found his own accommodation, with the expenses covered by the club. The next day, in the presence of Xiao Sans, both parties formally signed the contract.

When a new head coach arrives, they usually first meet the club's senior management. This procedure was skipped when Lin Sen took over Atletico Madrid due to special circumstances, but this time, Malaga kept it simple. The main senior management of Malaga Club was not extensive, with a somewhat centralized structure. The most important figure was the club president, Xiao Sans. In addition, Aguilar, as a senior figure, would participate in most of the club's decisions, while Livermore was a new arrival. The new team manager, Vicente Barcenas, would be a new face that Lin Sen would frequently encounter in the new season. This actually highlighted the difference between small and large clubs. For example, Atletico Madrid, in addition to the president and general manager, had positions such as operating director and football director, some of which were held by more than one person. The detailed division of roles largely represented the "evolution" of the club.

Barcenas, who had played for Malaga for nearly a decade and had just retired this season, would assist Lin Sen in managing the dressing room. After the introduction, the friendly-looking Barcenas shook hands with Lin Sen. Perhaps because they were close in age, Barcenas seemed very familiar and even joked that he would like to swap positions with Lin Sen.

As for Livermore, his attitude remained the same, neither humble nor arrogant. After shaking hands with Lin Sen, he simply said:

"Looking forward to working with you."

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End of Volume 1. Thank you for every click, recommendation, and collection.