Chapter 182: Endorsement Fees Skyrocket
After easily defeating Hull City, Manchester City now stands at the top of the Premier League table with three consecutive victories and nine points.
Considering their goal difference of 10, even if teams like Liverpool and Tottenham also achieve three consecutive wins, they won't be able to dislodge Manchester City from their position.
After this match, Premier League teams finally started to take Manchester City seriously.
Before the season started, many thought that with so many new signings in the summer, it would take time for these players to integrate, and Manchester City might not perform well in the early stages of the season.
But no one expected that they would kick off with three straight wins, immediately securing the top spot on the table.
This made other teams wary, now placing Manchester City among the title contenders along with the other major clubs.
Being taken seriously by their opponents is a recognition of Manchester City's strength, but this also means they will face greater resistance in their upcoming matches.
The highlight of this Premier League round was the last two matches: Manchester United visiting Liverpool and Arsenal hosting Tottenham.
After pushing back a strong Chelsea, Moyes' Manchester United still fell at Anfield.
In the showdown between Liverpool and Manchester United, Liverpool always performs exceptionally well at home.
Despite Liverpool's recent years being far less successful in both the league and Champions League compared to Manchester United, United always struggles at Anfield.
In the past six seasons, Manchester United's away record at Anfield is one win, one draw, and four losses.
This record is clearly lopsided!
And this season, with Moyes just taking over and not fully grasping the team yet, visiting Liverpool's home ground was bound to be tough.
Just four minutes into the game, Liverpool's captain Gerrard assisted Sturridge to score.
This was the only goal of the match, but it was enough to send Manchester United packing.
This loss was very detrimental for Moyes.
In the first three rounds against two of the BIG4, Manchester United's record was one draw and one loss.
This record is far from ideal!
With only one win in the first three matches, Manchester United has dropped to seventh place on the league table, out of the title race zone.
Considering that they will face a red-hot Manchester City in the fifth round, if they lose the Manchester derby, United's ranking will drop further, and the Premier League title may become out of reach this season!
While Moyes was disappointed at Anfield, Arsenal's Wenger was triumphant at the Emirates Stadium, defeating their North London rivals Tottenham with the same score, stopping their decline with two consecutive wins after an unexpected loss in the first match.
Arsenal is currently in fourth place with two consecutive wins. Although they trail Manchester City and Liverpool by three points, the gap is not insurmountable, and they can catch up if their opponents make mistakes.
Thanks to his incredible performance in the first three rounds of the Premier League, Lin was named the Premier League Player of the Month.
This was his first award since joining the Premier League and he became the youngest foreign player to receive this honor.
The Premier League's popularity is significantly higher than the Bundesliga's. Since joining the Premier League, Lin's Twitter followers have skyrocketed.
After the Confederations Cup, his followers had stagnated at around 2.8 million, but after just three matches with Manchester City, his followers increased by over a million, nearing a total of 4 million.
This surge in popularity also boosted Lin's commercial value.
Sponsors lined up to seek endorsement deals with him, so many that Pere could barely keep up.
Following Lin's principle of quality over quantity, Pere rejected most of the commercial endorsements.
"Coca-Cola and Pepsi have both approached me. They want to collaborate with you," Pere said, retaining some high-profile international brands that showed significant interest.
"What are their offers?" Lin asked.
Lin doesn't drink much soda as it's not ideal for professional athletes. However, for the average person, soda sells in large quantities worldwide and is highly recognizable.
Collaborating with such brands could help Lin expand his influence and visibility.
This kind of mutually beneficial partnership is what Lin desires.
"Coca-Cola has a higher influence, so their offer is more conservative, at 9 million euros over three years.
"Pepsi, with slightly less influence, offered a bit more in promotion fees, at 14 million euros over four years."
Calculating annually, Coca-Cola's offer is 3 million euros per year, and Pepsi's is 3.5 million euros per year.
Lin preferred Coca-Cola's Sprite, especially an ice-cold Sprite in the summer, though drinking too much before meals can be filling and make you hungry faster…
So he told Pere, "We can sign with Coca-Cola, but ask them if I can endorse just Sprite. See if they agree."
"Okay, I'll negotiate with them," Pere responded.
"Also, Nike and Adidas have contacted me, wanting to reopen negotiations."
"No rush. Let's wait until the Champions League starts, and then we'll talk," Lin said.
A few months ago, Lin rejected Nike and Adidas's offers. At that time, he hadn't confirmed his next team, and his fame was limited to the Bundesliga, with little global fan base.
So, the two major sports brands saw him as a potential star and didn't offer very high prices.
But now things were different. Although only a summer had passed, his influence in football had greatly increased after winning the Confederations Cup and joining Manchester City with a record transfer fee.
Now, neither Nike nor Adidas could treat him as just a young player.
Though young, his current influence rivals that of top stars and even exceeds some.
So, they would have to show genuine sincerity in their new offers.
But Lin wasn't in a hurry. He knew his influence hadn't reached its peak.
As long as he continued to perform well in the Champions League and World Cup, his influence would grow even more, truly making him a superstar on par with Messi and Ronaldo.
Besides commercial endorsements, Lin was also thinking about how to spend his money.
Last season, his salary wasn't high, so he didn't think much about investments.
But after joining Manchester City, he received a signing bonus of 100 million pounds.
That's not a small amount!
Considering the continuous devaluation of the pound, if he didn't spend it soon, the exchange rate could plummet after Brexit, and he'd lose out.
But what should he invest in?
...
After the third round of the Premier League ended, the FIFA international break arrived.
Lin left the club and returned to Spain to report to the national team.
After the Confederations Cup, Spain hadn't gathered for over a month.
There was a friendly match against Ecuador, but Del Bosque didn't call up any main players, instead promoting a group of young players from the youth team and handing them over to assistant coach Toni.
Toni led these young players to a 3-0 win over Ecuador, which pleased Del Bosque.
The score wasn't the most important thing. What mattered was that the coach was starting to select the next generation of Spain's main squad.
Spain's current squad has many players born around 1985.
After the World Cup next year, they probably won't be able to participate in the 2018 World Cup.
So, Spain needs to start planning ahead.
However, with Lin around, rebuilding would be easier, as the team's core is secured.
"Hey, our big star is here!"
Lin arrived at the national team training base and met Ramos and Casillas.
Morata ran up to Lin, punched him in the chest, and then gave him a bear hug.
"How's the Premier League?"
"It's okay. Do you want to join?"
"No way. I'm all about Real Madrid. It's my favorite club. I'll never leave Real Madrid," Morata declared.
Lin glanced at him, not believing a word.
This guy is known as a 'dreamer' in football. When he left Real Madrid for Juventus, he said his childhood dream was to join Juventus.
When Real Madrid bought him back, he said his dream was to succeed at Real Madrid.
When he left for Chelsea and Atletico, he repeated the same story.
Given how many clubs he's dreamed of joining, fans nicknamed him 'the dreamer.'
As for his true favorite team, only he knows.
Seeing Lin, Ramos and Casillas also came over to greet him.
Ramos circled Lin, squeezing his strong muscles, and clicked his tongue in approval:
"Not bad, you've bulked up. Seems my worries were unfounded. With your build, even Premier League defenders can't trouble you."
Casillas warned, "Still, don't be careless. Premier League defenders are rough and foul a lot. Don't get hurt."
Thinking of David Silva, who was injured and out for at least three months, they all sighed.
Silva was injured in a Premier League match, and for a professional player, a three-month injury layoff could mean losing their starting position.
Before the injury, they might have been key players, but upon returning, their place might have been taken.
Moreover, many players leave psychological scars and physical impairments after injuries, and their performance might never be the same.
Injuries are undoubtedly a professional player's greatest enemy.
...
This time, there were many newcomers in the squad.
Real Madrid's Nacho and Manchester City's Garcia were called up for the first time, along with Negredo and Navas from Manchester City.
Including the injured Silva, Manchester City had five Spanish internationals.
"Busquets is injured, so Javi Garcia is here to replace him," Del Bosque explained.
But this was just the official reason.
Spain has plenty of midfielders, and Garcia, at 26, wasn't exactly a young player.
Del Bosque called him up not only to replace Busquets but also to assist Lin.
Del Bosque had been watching Lin's
Premier League matches and noticed that Manchester City's midfield wasn't providing enough support for him.
City's midfield core, Yaya Toure, wasn't the type to assist teammates but rather liked to advance the ball himself.
He rarely passed directly to Lin, let alone assisted him.
Most of Lin's goals came from his exceptional solo abilities, with little support from his teammates.
Aguero, a forward, assisted Lin the most, not the midfielders.
When Silva was fit, he could help Lin, but now he was injured.
So, Del Bosque decided to promote more Spanish players from Manchester City.
Giving them more opportunities in the national team would help them build chemistry with Lin.
Back at the club, they could better support Lin.
Navas and Garcia were unaware of this, but they were excited to be called up.
With the World Cup approaching, players were competing fiercely for spots.
Even if they couldn't secure a starting position, making the 23-man squad was still valuable.
Especially for Spain, a World Cup favorite, being on the squad meant a chance to lift the trophy.
Other players had similar thoughts, taking training very seriously.
So serious that in training matches, some players tackled hard, nearly causing conflicts.
Del Bosque was pleased with their seriousness but worried about limited roster spots for the World Cup.
Many main players were injured now, but they wouldn't be absent forever.
So, many called up players this time might not be there next time.
He wasn't sure they could accept this harsh reality.
After three days of training in Madrid, the Spanish national team flew to Helsinki, Finland, to prepare for their qualifier against Finland.
This match was Spain's third-to-last group match. Winning it would secure their spot in the 2014 World Cup with two games to spare.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone