章 10: Contract issues
When I arrived home, I happened to see Guardiola playing football in the yard.
Guardiola, a former player who turned into a professional coach after retiring, often plays football to relax.
Behind their house, there is a spacious lawn with a goal post where the father and son enjoy playing football.
"Why did you come back so early today?" Guardiola was a bit surprised to see Lucas returning home at this time.
Having led Barcelona's youth team, Guardiola is well aware of their training schedule. If he remembered correctly, the youth team had an important game coming up, so they should be training intensively at this time.
Based on his knowledge of Lucas, he didn't seem like someone who would skip training without a reason. Hence, there must be something else amiss.
"The tea is cold!" Lucas took off his coat, ran to the lawn, and started practicing with Guardiola.
While controlling the ball, Guardiola asked, "How did the club arrange things?"
Although he tried to maintain a calm tone, Lucas could still sense the anger in Guardiola's voice.
"They want to loan me out."
"Where to?"
"Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga!"
Guardiola fell silent for a moment. He had been in touch with his contacts, searching for a suitable team to help Lucas further develop his skills.
However, he didn't expect the club to act so swiftly. Before he could reach out to potential clubs, Barcelona had already taken the initiative.
"Bundesliga..." Guardiola pondered for a while. While he had never played in the Bundesliga himself, he had faced Bundesliga teams numerous times, giving him some understanding of the league.
Compared to other leagues, the Bundesliga is an excellent destination.
The league boasts a plethora of young players, not only talented youngsters from various European countries but also many players from other continents.
This is because the Bundesliga has comparatively relaxed restrictions on non-European players, unlike other leagues. They do not impose limitations on the number of non-European players registered, which makes the Bundesliga an appealing platform for young players from outside the EU when they seek to enter the top five leagues.
For instance, many young players from Japan and South Korea began their international careers in the Bundesliga.
In the past, several Chinese players also ventured into the Bundesliga. However, with the decline in the Chinese football team and the emergence of the Chinese Super League's lucrative financial offers, the number of players meeting the criteria for studying abroad has significantly decreased.
Even if occasionally there are a few who meet the standards for playing abroad, they are more inclined to remain in China to secure contracts.
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After all, you don't have to travel so far to start over in an unfamiliar place, you can earn a substantial salary by playing football in your own home country. Naturally, most people would choose the latter option.
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However, for players from other non-European countries, they may not have access to such favorable conditions. Consequently, they often opt to play in the Bundesliga while gaining experience in the top five leagues.
By enhancing their skills and waiting for the right time, these players can eventually gain recognition and consider transferring to other leagues, securing lucrative contracts.
As a result, the Bundesliga boasts a large number of young players, with the average age being the lowest among the top five leagues, at under 25 years old.
Thanks to the influx of young talents, certain teams in the Bundesliga have engaged in shrewd business practices. They acquire promising young players at low prices, nurture their talents through domestic league and cup competitions, and once these players become fully developed and famous, they sell them at substantial profits to powerhouse teams in leagues like the Premier League and La Liga,
Porto, Benfica and Ajax and PSV Eindhoven and there are many teams who did similar things train their player in the academy and sell them for huge amount of money.
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Among these teams, Borussia Dortmund is particularly well-known for this strategy.
Although Lucas did not join Dortmund, it is common for the top clubs to scout players from the Bundesliga.
As long as he performs well at Werder Bremen, he is bound to attract the attention of scouts from the top five leagues. Consequently, securing a transfer away from Werder Bremen should not be a daunting task.
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Pondering this, Guardiola inquired, "How much longer do you have left on your contract with the club?Your contract time with Barcelona."
Guardiola could sense that Lucas harbored dissatisfaction towards the club's policies.
While Lucas refrained from expressing any negative opinions about Barcelona, his indifferent attitude hinted at his diminishing emotional attachment to the club.
Therefore, even if he excels at Werder Bremen, it is unlikely that he would want to return to Barcelona.
However, this decision is not solely within his control.
As long as he remains under contract, Barcelona has the option to recall him once his loan spell concludes.
"I still have one year left on my contract. Didn't you mention earlier that you wanted to take a break? I haven't renewed my contract with the club!"
Currently, Lucas holds a youth training contract he signed with Barcelona at the age of 13, valid for four years with an annual salary of 22,000 euros.
Originally, when he turned 15 last year, he had the opportunity to sign a professional contract with Barcelona.
However, for players whose abilities are not particularly outstanding, Barcelona prefers to observe them for an extended period. They wait until they are confident that the player meets their requirements or can be sold for cash before offering a professional contract.
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"Originally, according to the plan, if Lucas didn't leave this year, Barcelona was supposed to renew his contract. Otherwise, if he renewed his contract next year, he might become a free agent and be pursued by other teams.
However, now that Guardiola has resigned, Barcelona has made it clear that they don't want to renew his contract, and Lucas himself has no intention of renewing it either.
Therefore, he only has one year left on his current contract.
"What is the amount of the contract's termination fee?"
Guardiola also knows that this contract is crucial to the issue at hand. If the termination fee isn't substantial, he can buy out the contract using his own money, freeing him from Barcelona's restrictions.
Did u forget? 5 million euros.
Lucas looked at Guardiola innocently and replied : As Guardiola patted his bald head. He suddenly remembered that he had set the termination fee for this contract himself.
"Hehe, I had high expectations for you initially, so I set the same termination fee as Messi"
Messi's termination fee in the youth team was also 5 million euros. It was because of this that Barcelona feared he would be poached. When he turned 16, they immediately offered him a nine-year professional contract, but they kept his salary extremely low for seven or eight years, taking advantage of him!
Barcelona knows all too well about playing emotional cards and don't gave them their respective money just like what they did do Cesc Fabregas.
He had to use his 3 million from his pocket for transfer to Barcelona from Arsenal.
(End of this chapter)"
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