Capítulo 139: Chapter 139: Intensive Training and Contract Renewal Talks
Chapter 139: Intensive Training and Contract Renewal Talks
Guidolin's proposal was something Bruno couldn't refuse, so he agreed. While other Udinese players were either heading to their national teams for the World Cup in Brazil or beginning their vacations, Bruno found himself in the quiet training grounds of Udinese, starting a 40-day intensive training regimen.
Bruno wasn't averse to the intensive training; he was all too familiar with it. Since his arrival in this timeline, the Training Master System had kept him under a continuous and varied training schedule, not sparing even his sleeping hours. This time, though, the training was overseen by people instead of the system, giving Bruno a chance to experience a different approach to training. This summer, even if he returned to his home in Portugal, he knew the Training Master System would have training plans ready for him. The system aimed to train him to become one of the strongest players in history, and he was still a distance away from that goal.
As Bruno began his special training with the Udinese coaching staff, major European leagues concluded, champions were crowned, and clubs experienced both joy and sorrow. The UEFA Champions League was clinched by Real Madrid, who triumphed over their city rivals Atlético Madrid in a Spanish showdown. Florentino Pérez finally achieved his decima, the dream of a tenth European Cup, which he had waited twelve years to realize. Atlético faced the misfortune of losing in the finals for the second time.
Although Cristiano Ronaldo scored 17 goals in 11 Champions League matches, his contributions were seen as minimal, especially since his only goal in the final came from a penalty in extra time, which was considered insignificant to the outcome.
In the Premier League, post-Ferguson, Manchester City snatched the title. Ferguson's fellow Scot at Manchester United didn't last a season, leading the team to their darkest moments in the Premier League era. They finished seventh, a performance that didn't even secure them a spot in the Europa League. The joke going around was that with Ferguson gone, United's true form without referee favors was showing.
Between intense training sessions, Bruno occasionally surfed the internet, amused by the familiar discourse online.
During this period, while Bruno was busy with training and online forays, his agent Mendes was not idle. He was deep in tough contract renewal negotiations with the club. Mendes kept Bruno informed about every detail of the negotiations through calls or emails, which is why Bruno understood the difficulty in the talks. Mendes was known for being a tough, principled agent.
The initial idea of renegotiating Bruno's contract came from Udinese right after the season ended following their unprecedented success. The club wanted to reward Bruno for his contributions and initiated talks about a new contract. Bruno's original five-year contract included a €40 million release clause, a figure that seemed high at the time but, after just one season, had become a bargain due to his skyrocketing value.
Udinese's quick move to start negotiations post-season was to secure Bruno's future at the club and prevent him from being snapped up for a relatively low fee. However, negotiations hit a snag over the release clause. Mendes felt the club's proposed €120 million was too high and sought to lower it to below €80 million, ideally around €60 million. Udinese, having learned from past experiences, was not keen on making the same mistake twice.
Bruno's value was only expected to rise, especially with Champions League football on the horizon. Setting the clause at €60 million might have led to wealthy clubs triggering it that summer.
As the wrangling over the release clause dragged on, Mendes threw another curveball by bringing up image rights. He did not want to hand over Bruno's image rights to Udinese but instead wanted to negotiate a fee or revenue-sharing arrangement for their use. Udinese, however, preferred to have full control over the player's image rights to freely capitalize on commercial opportunities without extra costs. This was particularly important for financially struggling clubs like Udinese, which saw a talent like Bruno as a potential gold mine.
The discussions stretched on, unresolved even as the World Cup was about to start. Bruno, for his part, was caught between his agent's strategies and the club's financial interests, all while maintaining his focus on the intensive training that would hopefully make him even more formidable on the European stage.
(End of Chapter)
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