章 11: Chapter 10: Contract Issues
Chapter 10: Contract Issues
When Luis returned home, he happened to see Guardiola playing football in the yard.
Guardiola, a retired professional player turned coach, would occasionally play football to relax.
So behind their house, there was a large lawn and a goalpost, where the father and son would play football.
"Why are you back so early today?" Guardiola looked surprised to see Luis returning home at this hour.
Having coached Barcelona's youth team, Guardiola was well aware of their training schedule.
And if he remembered correctly, the youth team had an important match in a few days, so they should be intensifying their training.
Knowing Luis well, he didn't seem like the type to skip training without reason.
So there must be something fishy about this situation.
"People left, and the tea got cold!" Luis took off his jacket and ran onto the grass, practicing with Guardiola.
As Guardiola controlled the ball, he asked, "How did the club arrange things?"
Although he tried to maintain a calm tone, Luis could sense the anger in his voice.
"They want to loan me out."
"Where to?"
"To Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga!"
Guardiola fell silent for a moment. When Luis expressed his desire to leave Barcelona earlier, Guardiola had already started using his connections to find a suitable team for him to train and develop.
But he didn't expect the club to act so quickly, making their move before he could finalize arrangements with another club.
"The Bundesliga..."
Guardiola pondered. Although he had never played in the Bundesliga, he had faced German teams many times and had some understanding of the league.
Compared to other leagues, the Bundesliga was a good destination.
They had many young players, not only talented youngsters from various European countries but also young players from other continents playing there.
This was because the Bundesliga had more relaxed restrictions on the number of non-European players.
They didn't limit the registration of non-European players, which made it a stepping stone for young players from countries outside the European Union to enter the top five leagues.
For example, many young players from Japan and South Korea started their overseas careers in the Bundesliga.
In the past, China also had several players in the Bundesliga, but as the national team's level declined and the rise of the Chinese Super League's big-money football bubble, the number of players capable of meeting the standards for overseas transfers significantly decreased.
Even if a few players occasionally met the standards for overseas transfers, they preferred to stay in China and sign lucrative contracts instead of going to unfamiliar places abroad to start from scratch.
However, for players from non-European countries, they didn't have such favorable conditions, so playing in the Bundesliga allowed them to gain experience in the top five leagues and improve their skills. When the time was right and they gained recognition, they could consider transferring to other leagues for better contracts.
Therefore, the Bundesliga had a large number of young players, and the average age of players in the league was the lowest among the top five leagues, being under 25 years old.
Thanks to the influx of young players, some Bundesliga clubs conducted a profitable business.
They would buy promising young talents at low prices, develop them using their domestic league and cup competitions, and then sell them at high prices to top clubs in leagues like the Premier League and La Liga, making a significant profit.
One of the more famous examples was Borussia Dortmund, the Yellow and Blacks.
Although Luis wasn't going to Dortmund, the top clubs loved buying players from the Bundesliga.
If he performed well at Werder Bremen, he would also attract the attention of scouts from the top five leagues.
When the time came, it wouldn't be difficult for him to transfer from Werder Bremen. Thinking of this, Guardiola asked, "How long is your contract with the club?"
The current issue wasn't just about the loan, but also Luis's contract with Barcelona.
Guardiola could tell that Luis was very unhappy with the club's behavior of trying to get rid of him.
Although he didn't speak ill of the club, his indifferent attitude showed that he no longer had any affection for Barcelona.
In that case, even if Luis performed well at Werder Bremen, he probably wouldn't want to return to Barcelona.
However, this matter was not something he could decide on his own.
As long as he was within his contract period, Barcelona could recall him after the loan contract ended.
"I have one more year left on my contract. I didn't renew with the club because you said you were planning to take a break!" Luis replied.
Luis currently had a youth training contract he signed with Barcelona when he was 13 years old. The contract was for four years with an annual salary of 22,000 euros.
Normally, when he turned 15 last year, he would have been able to sign a professional contract with Barcelona.
But for players whose abilities weren't particularly outstanding, Barcelona wouldn't immediately offer them professional contracts. Instead, they would continue to observe them for some time, waiting until they were sure the player met their requirements or could be sold for profit before offering a professional contract.
According to the original plan, if Luis didn't leave this year, Barcelona would have renewed his contract. Otherwise, if they waited until next year to renew, he could potentially become a free agent and be snatched away by other teams.
However, now that Guardiola had resigned and it was clear that Barcelona didn't want to renew with him, Luis also had no intention of renewing.
So his contract was left with just one more year.
"What is the buyout clause in the contract?" Guardiola knew that this buyout clause was the key issue. If the buyout amount wasn't significant, Luis could buy out the contract himself.
That way, he wouldn't be bound by Barcelona.
"It's 5 million euros, just like Messi's!" Luis innocently looked at Guardiola, who slapped his bald head. He suddenly remembered that he had set the buyout clause for this contract.
"Hehe, I had high expectations for you back then, so I set the buyout clause the same as Messi's!"
Messi's buyout clause in his youth team contract was also 5 million euros. Even so, Barcelona was afraid of losing him. As soon as he turned 16, they immediately offered him a nine-year professional contract, using extremely low wages, taking seven or eight years to pay off the debt to Messi.
Barcelona knew how to enjoy freebies!
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