Chương 11: Loan Agreement
Five million euros isn't a small amount, and Lin definitely can't afford it himself.
Guardiola could come up with the money, but Lin didn't want to let Barcelona off so easily.
After all, Guardiola's wealth wasn't particularly abundant.
When Guardiola was promoted from the Barcelona youth team in 2008, his salary was very low, less than 2 million euros.
It was only after coaching Barcelona for two years and winning six titles that he received a large contract. In July 2010, Guardiola renewed his contract with Barcelona, and his annual salary increased five times, reaching 10 million euros.
With this contract, he became the highest-paid coach in European football, second only to Mourinho.
This contract had a relatively short duration and hadn't resulted in substantial wealth accumulation.
During Guardiola's playing days, player salaries weren't high, and he wasn't Barcelona's top star, so he didn't earn much money.
With expenses over the years, buying property, children's education, and other costs, he likely had around 20 million euros in savings.
Taking one-fourth of this to buy out a one-year youth training contract would be a loss.
So, when Guardiola offered to help buy out the contract, Lin flatly refused.
Lin's contract only has one year remaining. After the loan period ends, the contract also expires.
At that time, he won't need to spend a single penny, and he would be a free agent, so it makes no sense to spend money unnecessarily.
Besides, Enrique is eager to send him away, not him wanting to leave.
So, he wouldn't spend his own money at this time.
"Alright, what's your suggestion then?" Seeing Lin looking confident, Guardiola asked.
"Enrique likely agreed with Rosell to get me out, so I think I can use this to threaten him and force him to make concessions in the loan contract," Lin explained.
Guardiola nodded understandingly. Since Rosell had spoken, Enrique would surely do everything possible to fulfill the club president's instructions.
Typically, loan contract figures aren't high. For young players like Lin, the loan fee generally wouldn't exceed 500,000 euros.
Some teams even request the player's parent club to bear a part or all of the wages during the loan period.
Werder Bremen, where Lin was headed, was a declining team and hadn't been paying competitive salaries in recent years.
Therefore, Lin wanted to leverage the loan contract to force Barcelona into making concessions, in exchange for playing time at Werder Bremen.
As he had trained in the Bundesliga before, sitting on the bench wouldn't do. He needed sufficient playing time. Otherwise, he would prefer to stay at the youth team than be loaned out.
Although the intensity of matches in the Spanish second division was lower than in the Bundesliga, he at least had games to play in the youth team.
Of course, if they could negotiate, loaning out would still be better. Under the club's targeting, his future playing time with the youth team was also uncertain.
"Good thinking. Young players do need more playing time to gain experience in major matches," Guardiola remarked.
"Alright. As long as I'm still Barcelona's coach, I'll arrange your loan contract," Guardiola suggested.
Guardiola's contract with Barcelona doesn't expire until July. However, after the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 26, he would leave the team, leaving the remaining work to his successor.
Upon hearing Guardiola's offer, Lin shook his head and politely declined:
"I think it's better if you don't get involved!"
"Why? Any reason?" Guardiola was surprised. If he got involved, he would surely support Lin and help him settle everything.
To his surprise, Lin declined such an arrangement. It was perplexing.
"As you're leaving Barcelona soon, arranging my loan at this time might cause criticism if details are leaked in the future. It could potentially harm your reputation!" Lin explained.
Upon hearing Lin's words, Guardiola couldn't help but smile.
"It seems like you're very confident about your future in the Bundesliga, already sure of becoming the next football star!"
"Of course! Look who I learned football from. That man is a legend at Barcelona and the most sought-after coach in today's football!"
Even flattery works.
Lin's flattery pleased Guardiola, as it diffused any negative feelings that might have originated from the club.
"Haha, kid, I didn't have many notable achievements during my playing days, just a Champions League trophy and Europa League winners trophy."
Lin rolled his eyes. Winning two out of the three major European trophies wasn't a notable achievement?
Guardiola eventually accepted Lin's advice and refrained from intervening in the matter, pretending to be completely unaware to outsiders.
He continued working as usual, studying opponents for the last league game and the upcoming King's Cup final in a few weeks.
During this time, even visited the youth team for work reasons and, to Enrique's relief and surprise, acted as if he didn't know anything about Lin's loan. This made Enrique feel relieved but also suspicious—how come Lin didn't spill the beans?
As for Lin, the next day he went to the youth training camp and directly found Enrique and the club's transfer director, Zubizarreta, to discuss the loan matters.
Zubizarreta, being loyal to Rosell, was eager to loan Lin as part of Rosell's plan to get rid of players closely associated with Guardiola. Meanwhile, Enrique was keen to send Lin away, so without any fuss, he handed over the loan agreement to Lin.
Lin took a quick look: Barcelona brokered his loan to Werder Bremen for an annual fee of 300,000 euros, with Werder Bremen covering the salary. The fixed annual salary was the same as at Barcelona, 22,000 euros.
Additionally, the agreement included appearance fees, goal bonuses, assist bonuses, victory bonuses, and bonuses based on the number of appearances. Although the bonus amounts weren't high, Lin didn't expect much from the contract owing to it being a youth team agreement.
However, he believed Barcelona should pay this amount, at least his salary, as he was still a Barcelona player. As for the loan fee, since Barcelona wanted to send him away, asking for a loan fee from Werder Bremen didn't seem right to Lin.
So, Lin voiced his conditions.
"What? No loan fee? That's impossible!" Zubizarreta immediately opposed Lin's request. Barcelona wasn't an ordinary team; even youth team players shouldn't go without a loan fee! Using their players was doing Werder Bremen a favor, and yet Lin wanted to freeload?
This was something they always did; they couldn't possibly let others freeload off them. Enrique was a bit stuck in the middle. While he wanted to send Lin away, he also didn't want to break the club's operating rules. Additionally, Zubizarreta had more authority in this matter than Enrique as the youth team coach. If it were the first-team coach, Guardiola, Zubizarreta wouldn't dare act so brazenly, as the first-team coach could decide whether a player stayed or left.
So, Enrique tried to persuade Lin, "Lin, I think it's better not to waive the loan fee."
"Think about it, if you joined Werder Bremen for free, they wouldn't have invested anything and might not attach much importance to you. They might even doubt your abilities or wonder why Barcelona is waiving the loan fee and sending you away. This would definitely have a negative impact on your time at Werder Bremen!"
To persuade Lin further and settle the matter quickly, Enrique continued, "Barcelona won't mistreat its players. I will have a new loan agreement drawn up, increasing your bonus benefits. If that's good with you, then sign the contract!"
Lin was puzzled by the prospect of increased benefits; could a few hundred euros in bonuses really make a difference? However, after looking at the figures, Lin was taken aback by how eager Enrique was to send him away!
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