My Ultimate Gacha System

Chapter 365 40: Preparation and Pressure II

Rosewood Hotel — Room 512

3:00 PM

The hotel room had been converted into a temporary office with Marco's laptop open on the desk and two thick folders positioned on the table and water bottles at each seat and a notepad with a pen laid out where Demien would sit.

The setup was deliberate and professional in ways that immediately established this wasn't casual conversation.

Marco closed the door and directed Demien to sit at the table before taking the seat across from him, and his posture and energy had shifted completely into agent mode where every word and gesture served specific purpose.

"Both clubs revised their offers after Monday's performance," Marco said without preamble. "We're walking through Liverpool first, then Manchester United. I'll present each offer completely. Questions at the end of each presentation, not during. Understood?"

"Understood," Demien said.

Marco opened the first folder and slid the document across the table. The header read Liverpool FC - Revised Offer - June 20, 2023 in clean typed font with the club crest watermarked behind the text.

"Base salary change," Marco said, and his finger moved to the relevant section. "Original offer was one hundred seventy-five thousand pounds per week. Revised offer is now one hundred ninety thousand pounds per week in year one."

He paused to let Demien scan the numbers.

"Rising to two hundred five thousand in year three and two hundred twenty thousand in year five," Marco continued. "That's fifteen thousand per week increase on the original offer, which over five years is approximately three point nine million additional pounds before tax."

Demien read the section while Marco spoke and the numbers were significant but not astronomical, and Liverpool had moved but stayed within parameters that made sense for a nineteen-year-old unproven in the Premier League.

"Signing bonus increased from eight million to nine point five million pounds," Marco said, and he flipped to the next page. "Appearance bonuses remain unchanged at five thousand per Premier League start or match where you play sixty-plus minutes. However, goal and assist bonuses increased from eight thousand to ten thousand per goal or assist in official competitions."

He stopped and let Demien read the full section himself while the silence built for fifteen seconds.

"Image rights section next," Marco said, and his tone sharpened slightly because this was where Liverpool had made real movement. "Original offer was twenty percent to you of qualifying income, but the definition of qualifying income was narrow and excluded Liverpool-branded commercial content. They've revised that definition."

He pointed to the specific paragraph and Demien leaned forward to read it.

"It still excludes some Liverpool-branded content," Marco continued, "but they've expanded what counts toward your share. Specifically, any deal where your name or image appears separately from the Liverpool brand now counts toward your percentage, even if Liverpool facilitated the deal. My estimate is the new effective split is approximately eighteen to twenty-two percent depending on deal structure."

Marco paused and his eyes came up from the document to meet Demien's.

"Not the seventy-thirty split you asked for in your notes," Marco said. "But meaningfully better than the original offer. They listened even if they didn't give you everything."

Demien nodded and went back to reading the paragraph while Marco waited.

"Buyout clause section," Marco said after the appropriate pause. "Original offer was eighty-five million pounds activating after twenty-four months from signing date. Revised offer is seventy-five million pounds activating after eighteen months."

He let that sit for a moment.

"This moves it closer to what you wanted," Marco said. "You asked for sixty-five million activating after twelve months in your notes. They didn't go that far but they moved significantly toward your position. Ten million lower and six months earlier is real movement."

Demien absorbed this and the revision showed Liverpool had taken his concerns seriously even if they hadn't given him exactly what he wanted.

Marco flipped to the next page. "Playing time provisions. I need to be clear about this section because it sounds better than it is."

His finger found the relevant paragraph.

"Liverpool won't guarantee starts because no top club does that for nineteen-year-old players regardless of talent," Marco said. "However, they've added conditional language here."

He read directly from the document: "If the player is not receiving regular first-team minutes after twelve months, the club and player representatives will engage in mutual discussion regarding development pathway options including potential loan arrangements."

Marco looked up. "This is acknowledgment language. It sounds good but it's vague enough to protect Liverpool's interests more than yours. 'Regular first-team minutes' isn't defined. 'Mutual discussion' doesn't guarantee anything. It's something, but practically it means very little."

Demien understood the distinction between language that sounded protective versus language that actually protected.

Marco closed the folder and sat back.

"Questions," he said.

Demien thought before speaking. "Champions League bonus?"

"Unchanged," Marco said. "Five hundred thousand pounds if Liverpool qualify for Champions League and you've played in at least twenty-five percent of matches during the qualifying season. Contract duration is five years, standard."

"What was Liverpool's emphasis in making these revisions?" Demien asked, and Marco nodded approval at the question.

"Good question," Marco said. "Money first. They know a nineteen-year-old cares about wages and they wanted to show significant movement there. Buyout clause was second priority to make you feel you have exit options if things don't work out. Image rights was third, showing they listened to your concerns even if they didn't give you everything. Playing time language came last and is deliberately vague, which means it's something but practically means very little."

Demien absorbed this analysis and the pattern showed Liverpool's priorities clearly—move on money to show seriousness, move on exit mechanisms to provide comfort, give vague assurances on playing time that cost them nothing.

"Liverpool moved on money," Marco summarized. "Moved meaningfully on the buyout clause. Made some movement on image rights. Gave vague playing time language that ultimately protects them more than you. The offer is better than the original but still structured to protect Liverpool's interests first, which is normal."

He paused before asking, "Ready to hear Manchester United's revised offer?"

"Yeah," Demien said.