novelraw Chapter 300 - 73: Volley! Attacking Combo! Wang Shuo Dependence Syndrome! Dortmund, You Should Give Wang Shuo a Raise
Chapter 300 - 73: Volley! Attacking Combo! Wang Shuo Dependence Syndrome! Dortmund, You Should Give Wang Shuo a Raise
So, after seven rounds of matches, Dortmund had 18 points, with Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg both on 17.
Moreover, both the Pharmacy and the Northern King remained undefeated.
As for Bayern, on the other hand...
After losing their last match, their league ranking had plummeted to 8th place. They now had the same number of points as Tuchel’s Mainz, putting them in a precarious position.
Head coach Van Gaal, in particular, found his job on the line.
His conflict with Gomez was also being repeatedly hyped up by the media.
...
「The morning after the Ruhr Derby.」
While everyone at Dortmund was at the Strobelaler Training Ground for recovery training, actively preparing for the Thursday UEFA Europa League match against Israel Tel Aviv Sharper, Thomas Essien walked into Westfalen Stadium.
As the German agent entered the Dortmund offices, he immediately caught the receptionist’s eye.
"Hello, sir. I’m sorry, but this area isn’t open to fans."
Thomas Essien was a little surprised. Realizing he’d never met this receptionist before, he walked over to her desk.
"I have an appointment with Watzke."
The receptionist looked surprised.
Of course, she knew who Watzke was.
She’d also received a message earlier that someone named Thomas Essien had an appointment for this morning.
"Hello, are you...?"
"Thomas Essien."
"Hello, Mr. Essien. So you’re Wang Shuo’s agent." The receptionist studied the plain-looking German man before her with great curiosity. He was clearly a far cry from the high-profile agent she had been expecting.
’At the very least, a handsome guy like Wang Shuo should have a better-looking agent.’
’And he doesn’t look particularly sharp, either.’
"Please follow me, Mr. Essien."
This wasn’t Thomas Essien’s first time here.
’Hmm, he’d forgotten exactly how many times he’d been, but it wasn’t many.’
He’d been busy recently, arranging trials for players from China and contacting various clubs.
Of course, he had also been deliberately limiting his visits.
It was a strategy.
He arrived at Watzke’s office, knocked, and went inside. In addition to Watzke, he found Sporting Director Zorc, Financial Director Marcus Kneipen, and Chief Financial Officer Thomas Tres were also there.
"Hello, Thomas."
Upon seeing Thomas Essien, Watzke, Zorc, and the others stood up with smiles to welcome him.
After some polite small talk, everyone sat back down.
Thomas Essien, however, was seated next to Watzke, a gesture that showed how much importance Dortmund now placed on him.
"On my way here today, I passed through the city of Dortmund and made a point to stop at a newsstand and buy a few papers."
As he spoke, Thomas Essien pulled a stack of newspapers from the briefcase he was carrying.
"The German Business Newspaper, Bild, Ruhr News, Die Welt, the West German Newspaper, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung, Kicker Magazine, Der Spiegel..."
Watzke, Zorc, and the others all exchanged glances.
Although they had guessed the reason for Thomas Essien’s visit, what exactly was he trying to say by pulling out so many newspapers and magazines right at the start?
"I’ve noticed something very interesting."
Thomas Essien remained unhurried, his demeanor composed.
Wang Shuo’s outstanding performance was his greatest source of confidence!
"All of these newspapers and magazines are praising Wang Shuo, and in lengthy articles, no less. Take Bild, for example. This issue has two feature stories on Wang Shuo, and even more that mention him."
"And look at this—the German Business Newspaper. It’s a paper that’s supposed to be focused on the economic domain. For them to cover football news and matches is one thing, but they’ve even started following Wang Shuo and Lina Gerk’s romance."
This drew some amused smiles from the group.
Dortmund subscribed to that paper as well.
They had just been talking about it, in fact.
The team was dismissed after the match yesterday, right?
Lina Gerk had picked up Wang Shuo outside Strobelaler in a Porsche Cayenne. Word was, the two of them had gone off to Dusseldorf and didn’t return to Strobelaler until the morning.
Of course, Wang Shuo wasn’t late for training.
So, what had they been doing all night?
The poor paparazzo who staked them out all night wasn’t able to find out.
"What are you trying to say, Thomas?" Watzke asked with a smile.
Thomas Essien nodded. "What I’m trying to say is, I feel that Wang Shuo’s current salary package is not quite commensurate with his contributions to the team and his present influence."
Watzke, Zorc, and the others exchanged glances, their expressions all saying, ’Just as we expected.’
"Here’s the thing, Thomas," Zorc said with a smile. "Wang’s contract was signed this summer. No matter how you look at it, it’s not the right time to bring it up for renegotiation. It’s against protocol, don’t you think?"
"Protocols are made by people, after all," Thomas Essien said with a smile.
"Yes, you’re right, but we need to discuss it internally. We certainly can’t give you an answer that quickly," Zorc replied.
At this point, Kneipen chimed in from the side.
"Wang’s current annual salary on our team isn’t considered low, you know."
"Of course, but compared to other clubs, like Bayern for example, there’s a huge difference."
At the mention of Bayern, the expressions on the faces of the Dortmund executives turned serious.
The whole world knew that Bayern had always been very interested in Wang Shuo.
Especially this season.
Van Gaal favored Olic, and the Croatian player was known as the "poor man’s Wang Shuo."