Capítulo 11: Chapter 11: Loan Contract
Five million euros is not a small amount, and Lin Quan certainly couldn't afford to pay it himself.
Guardiola could afford it, but Lin Quan didn't want to let Barcelona off the hook for free.
After all, Guardiola's assets weren't particularly abundant. When Guardiola first moved up from the Barcelona youth team in 2008, his salary was very low, less than €2 million.
He didn't land a big contract until two years into coaching at Barcelona, after winning the sextuple.
In July 2010, after renewing his contract with Barcelona for a 1+1 deal, his annual salary increased fivefold to €10 million.
With this contract, he became one of the highest-paid coaches in European football, second only to Mourinho.
However, this contract was relatively short and didn't accumulate much wealth for him.
During Guardiola's playing days, players' salaries weren't generally high, and he wasn't Barcelona's biggest star, so he didn't earn much.
Plus, over the years, expenses such as buying properties and paying for his children's education added up. At present, his savings might only be around €20 million.
Using a quarter of this to buy out a youth training contract with only a year left would undoubtedly be a loss.
So, when Guardiola offered to help Lin Quan buy out the contract, Lin Quan firmly declined.
Lin Quan's contract only had one year left. When his loan period ended, the contract would expire too.
By then, he wouldn't need to spend a penny, as he would be a free agent. So, there was no need to waste this unjust money.
Moreover, it was Enrique who was in a hurry to get rid of him now, not Lin Quan actively seeking to leave.
In that case, he couldn't afford to spend this money himself even more.
"Alright, so what's your idea?" Guardiola asked, seeing Lin Quan looking confident.
"Enrique probably agreed with Rosell to get rid of me. So, I think we can use this as leverage to force him to compromise on the loan contract!" Lin Quan proposed.
Guardiola nodded in understanding. Since Rosell had spoken, if Enrique wanted to take over, he would certainly do his best to fulfill the chairman's tasks.
And loan contracts usually involved small amounts. Young players like Lin Quan generally didn't command loan fees exceeding €500,000.
In fact, some clubs might even require the owning club to bear part or all of the player's wages during the loan.
Werder Bremen was a declining team with less than ideal salary conditions in recent years.
Therefore, Lin Quan wanted to use the loan contract as leverage to force Barcelona to compromise and secure more playing time at Werder Bremen.
Since he had trained in the Bundesliga before, he couldn't afford to sit on the bench watching his teammates play. He needed sufficient playing time; otherwise, he would prefer not to go on loan and stay with the youth team.
Although the intensity of matches in the Segunda Division wasn't as high as in the Bundesliga, at least there were games to play in the youth team.
Of course, if negotiations could be settled, it would still be better to go on loan, as his future playing time with the youth team became uncertain under the club's targeted actions.
"Well thought out. Young players indeed need more playing time to accumulate experience in major competitions."
"Alright, here's the plan. While I'm still the head coach of Barcelona, I'll take care of your loan contract!"
Guardiola's contract with Barcelona wasn't due to expire until July, but he would leave the team after coaching the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 26. The remaining work would be handed over to his successor.
Hearing Guardiola's intention to intervene, Lin Quan thought for a moment and shook his head, declining his offer:
"I think it's better for you not to get involved!"
"Hmm? Why's that?"
Guardiola was somewhat surprised; if he intervened, he would definitely lean towards Lin Quan's side and help him sort everything out.
Such an arrangement, unexpectedly, was met with refusal.
This left him feeling very puzzled.
"Because you're about to leave Barcelona, arranging for me to go on loan at this time, and if the club leaks the details later, it could cause criticism," Lin Quan explained.
"Especially when I become famous in the Bundesliga and become a rising star in football, and my contract happens to expire, then Barcelona won't be able to recall me, and they might use this loan contract to attack you, which wouldn't be good for your reputation!"
Hearing Lin Quan's words, Guardiola couldn't help but laugh:
"It seems like you're quite confident about your future in the Bundesliga, already assuming you can become the next generation of football star!"
"Of course, also consider who I learned football from; that man is a legend of Barcelona, the hottest coach in football today!"
No matter how many layers, flattery never gets old.
Lin Quan's flattery made Guardiola pleased because the negative emotions brought by the club had also dissipated.
"Haha, you kid, I didn't achieve much during my playing days; I only won one UEFA Champions League trophy and one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup."
Lin Quan rolled his eyes: Winning two of Europe's major tournaments wasn't something to be ashamed of, was it?
Ultimately, Guardiola accepted Lin Quan's suggestion and didn't intervene in the matter, pretending to be completely unaware externally.
He continued to work as usual, studying opponent data for the last league match and preparing for the Copa del Rey final a few weeks later.
During this time, he even visited the youth team for work reasons. Despite Enrique's nervousness, he greeted him as usual, completely avoiding any mention of Lin Quan and his loan, acting as if he was entirely unaware.
This made Enrique breathe a sigh of relief but also raised doubts: this kid didn't snitch?
As for Lin Quan, the next day after coming to the youth team, he went directly to Enrique and the club's sporting director responsible for transfers, Subisareta, to discuss the club's loan arrangements.
Subisareta was Rosell's confidant, knowing that Rosell wanted to clear out players with close ties to Guardiola, so he was very proactive about loaning out Lin Quan, wanting to show loyalty in front of Rosell.
As for Enrique, he couldn't wait to get rid of this little rascal sooner. He didn't want to break the club's operational rules, and Subisareta's authority in this matter was much greater than his as the youth team coach.
If the first team coach had been Guardiola, then Subisareta definitely wouldn't have dared to be so audacious, because the head coach could completely decide a player's fate.
So he also spoke up to persuade Lin Quan:
"Lin, I think it's better not to waive the loan fee."
"Think about it, if you join Werder Bremen for free, they haven't spent a penny and just got a player for free, so they might not value you and might even doubt your abilities. They might even question why Barcelona waived the loan fee and wanted to send you away. This would definitely have a negative impact on your playing time at Werder Bremen!"
To increase persuasion and quickly settle the matter, Enrique continued:
"We at Barcelona won't mistreat our players. I'll have someone redraw a loan contract, improving your bonus terms. If it's okay with you, you can sign the contract!"
Lin Quan was puzzled; how much could they improve with just a few hundred euros in bonuses?
However, after looking at the numbers, Lin Quan was stunned. Enrique was so eager to get rid of him!
(End of this chapter)
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