Bab 11: Lease Contract
Five million euros is a substantial amount, and Lucas certainly cannot afford it out of his own pocket.
While Guardiola may have the financial means to afford the money, Lucas doesn't want give Barcelona a penny after what they're trying to do without gaining anything in return.
After all, Guardiola's family doesn't possess significant wealth.
When Guardiola was first promoted from the Barcelona youth team in 2008, his salary was very low, less than 2 million euros.
He secured a lucrative contract after coaching Barcelona for two years and winning six championships.
In July 2010, after renewing his 1+1 contract with Barcelona, Guardiola's annual salary increased fivefold to 10 million euros.
With this contract, he became the highest-paid manager in European football, second only to Mourinho.
However, the contract was relatively short, limiting his ability to accumulate substantial assets.
During Guardiola's playing career, player salaries were generally not high, and he wasn't the highest-paid star in Barcelona, so he didn't earn a significant amount of money.
Considering his expenses over the years, including real estate purchases and the costs of his children's education, his current savings might be around 20 million euros.
Allocating a quarter of that amount to buy out a youth training contract with only one year remaining would undoubtedly result in a loss, regardless of how you analyze it.
Therefore, when Guardiola expressed his intention to buy out Lucas's contract, Lucas declined.
Lucas's contract is only for one year, and when his lease expires, the contract will naturally come to an end.
At that point, he won't have to pay a single penny, and he will be free to explore other opportunities. Thus, there is no need to spend his hard-earned money on this unjustifiable expense.
Furthermore, it is Enrique who is eager to get rid of Lucas, not the other way around.
Given the circumstances, it wouldn't be reasonable for Lucas to shoulder the financial burden himself.
"Okay, so what's your suggestion?" Guardiola inquired, noticing Lucas's confident demeanor.
"Enrique seems to have made a deal with Rosell and wants to push me out. Therefore, I believe I can use this as leverage to blackmail him and force him to make concessions on the loan contract," proposed Lucas.
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Guardiola nodded in agreement, realizing that if Rosell had voiced his opinion, Enrique would do his utmost to fulfill the club chairman's directives.
Typically, the loan fees for young players like Lucas do not exceed 500,000 euros, so the amount involved in the loan contract is relatively small.
Even some teams may ask the club holding player ownership to bear a portion or even the entire salary during a loan period.
Werder Bremen is a team in decline, and their salary situation in recent years has been less than ideal.
Therefore, Lucas intends to negotiate concessions with Barcelona in the loan contract, in exchange for guaranteed playing time at Werder Bremen.
Having been trained in the Bundesliga, he cannot simply sit on the bench and watch his teammates play football all the time.
He needs sufficient playing time, and if not guaranteed, he would rather not go out on loan and instead play in the youth team.
Although the competition in the second division is not as intense as the Bundesliga, there are still opportunities to play in the youth team.
Naturally, if possible, it is preferable to go out on loan, as his future playing time in the youth team becomes uncertain if targeted by the club.
"Yes, you're absolutely right. Young players indeed require more playing time to gain experience in major competitions."
"That's great. I will personally arrange your loan contract while I am still the head coach of Barcelona!"
Guardiola's contract with Barcelona will not expire until July, but after the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 26, he will leave the team, and the remaining tasks will be handed over to his successor.
Upon hearing Guardiola's intention to intervene, Lucas pondered for a moment, shook his head, and rejected the offer.
"I think it's best if you don't intervene."
"Huh? What's the reason?" Guardiola was somewhat surprised. Intervening would certainly favor Lucas and help him with everything.
He didn't expect his offer to be turned down, leaving him puzzled.
"Because you're about to leave Barcelona, arranging a loan for me at this time might lead to future leaks by the club, which could result in criticism.
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Especially when I become famous in the Bundesliga and emerged as a new football star. When my contract expires and Barcelona won't be able to bring me back, they might exploit this loan agreement to attack your reputation. It wouldn't be good for you." Hearing Lucas's explanation, Guardiola couldn't help but laugh.
"It seems you have great confidence in your future in the Bundesliga. You're already starting to believe that you can become the next generation of stars."
"Of course, don't you know? Who I learned playing football from? That man is a Barcelona legend and the most sought-after head coach in today's football world!"
Luca's flattery greatly pleased Guardiola, dissipating some of the negative emotions brought by the club recently.
"Haha boy, I didn't have remarkable achievements during my playing days. I only won one Champions League trophy and one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup."
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Lucas smirked and thought, "Isn't it reasonable to expect the winner of two, out of the three major European competitions do you also want to win the third!"
Guardiola finally acquiesced to Lucas's suggestion and refrained from interfering in the matter, pretending to be completely ignorant by Lucas's matter.
Continuing with his routine, he went to work as usual, diligently studying information about their upcoming opponents. He diligently prepared for the final opponent in the league as well as the Copa del Rey final just a few weeks away.
During this period, he even visited the youth team for work-related reasons. When encountering Enrique's unease, he greeted him in a normal manner, avoiding any mention of Lucas and his loan, as if he had no knowledge of it whatsoever.
This put Enrique at ease, but it also left him puzzled. He wondered if Lucas had kept the truth to himself.
As for Lucas, the next day he approached Enrique and the sports director in charge of transfers, Zubizaretta, to discuss his loan arrangement with the club.
Zubizaretta, who is a confidant of Rosell, understands Rosell's desire to remove players who have a close relationship with Guardiola. Therefore, he is proactive in facilitating Lucas's loan, aiming to demonstrate his loyalty to Rosell.
Enrique, on the other hand, was eager to send Lucas away as soon as possible. Consequently, he didn't waste time on pleasantries and promptly presented Lucas with the club's loan contract.
Lucas took a quick look at the contract. The loan fee from Barcelona to Werder Bremen was set at 300,000 euros per year, and Werder Bremen would cover his salary. The fixed annual salary remained the same as at Barcelona, amounting to 22,000 euros.
Additionally, there were appearance fees, goal bonuses, assist bonuses, winning bonuses, and appearance bonuses. While the bonus amounts were not substantial, with appearance fees at 200 euros, goal bonuses at 500 euros, assist bonuses at 200 euros, and winning bonuses at 500 euros, there was an incentive of 3,000 euros.
Considering it was a youth team contract, Lucas didn't hold high expectations for the bonus amounts.
However, he believed that Barcelona should be responsible for paying his salary, at the very least. After all, he was still a Barcelona player. As for the loan fee, since Barcelona intended to send him out, he will definitely not let them take take loan fees from Werder Bremen.
Thus, Lucas expressed his conditions.
"What? No loan fee? How is that possible?" Zubizaretta immediately objected to Lucas's request. "Barcelona is not an ordinary team; they are giants! Even players from rich teams, including youth players, cannot escape paying a loan fee. It's about your value as a player, your worth! Are you expecting to be handed out for free?"
Lucas's expression remained resolute. "They have always been sending players out for free, so why can't they do it now?" he countered.
Enrique is also a little embarassed, as he truly wanted to see Lucas leave.
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However he was unwilling to break the team's established operating procedures, and Zubizaretta held more authority in this matter than he did as the youth team coach.
Had Guardiola, the head coach of the first team, been present, Zubizaretta would not have dared to be so audacious. The head coach possessed the complete authority to decide whether a player stays or not.
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"So he also try to convinced Lucas," Enrique stated. "Lucas, I believe it's better not to offer your services for free."
"Think about it, if you join Werder Bremen without any fee, they won't invest a penny, and you'll be acquired for free. As a player, this may lead to others not valuing you or even doubting your abilities. They might question why Barcelona didn't even ask for a loan fee but sent you out instead. It will definitely have a negative impact on your football career!"
Enrique made a reasonable point, and after contemplating it, Lucas reconsidered his stance. He replied, "Well, the loan fee shouldn't be waived. However, considering my young age and playing in a foreign country, the team should provide some form of compensation."
Since Werder Bremen has to offer money why not use this in my advantage, it's preferable to negotiate for better terms.
Lucas realized that his low salary might not suffice when living far away from his relatives in a foreign country. Therefore, it was crucial to strive for additional benefits. He continued, "Regarding the salary, I understand that the contract has already been stipulated. I'm afraid it cannot be changed. However, as a wealthy club like Barcelona, you shouldn't be so stingy with your players, right?"
Zubizaretta was left speechless, unable to respond, as he silently cursed the other party for being overly money-minded.
Anticipating Zubizarreta's potential objections, Enrique quickly intervened, saying, "You're right, we can't be so stingy at Barcelona. Here's what we'll do: we will double the bonus offered by Werder Bremen. Additionally, I'll personally provide you with an extra bonus. How does that sound?"
Lucas couldn't help but roll his eyes, considering how meager Werder Bremen's bonus was. Even if Barcelona doubled it, the increment would still be insignificant.
"Ten times the bonus," Lucas proposed. "Barcelona is much wealthier than Werder Bremen, so ten times the bonus would be more fitting for a club of Barcelona's affluent stature."
Lucas intended to negotiate and gradually increase the offer, but to his surprise, Enrique readily agreed without any hesitation.
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"Alright, ten times it is. I'll have someone prepare a new lease contract. If everything looks fine, we can proceed with signing it," Enrique declared.
Lucas is now dumbfounded. He couldn't believe how Enrique wants to send him away as soon as possible.
(End of this chapter)
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