Loan Contract

Five million euros was no small sum. Lin Quan definitely could not afford to pay it out of his own pocket.

Guardiola could afford the money, but Lin Quan had no intention of letting Barca benefit for nothing.

After all, Guardiola's wealth was not particularly substantial.

When Guardiola had just been promoted from Barca's youth team in 2008, his salary had been very low, less than two million euros.

He only received a major contract after coaching Barca for two years and winning the sextuple.

In July 2010, after Guardiola renewed with Barca on a 1+1 contract, his annual salary increased fivefold to ten million euros.

It was thanks to that contract that he became the highest-paid Head Coach in European football, second only to Mourinho.

The contract was relatively short and had not allowed him to accumulate much wealth.

Furthermore, player salaries had generally been low during Guardiola's playing days. He had not been Barca's biggest star either, so he had not earned much.

After years of expenses, buying property, paying for his children's schooling, and so on, his current savings were probably only around twenty million euros.

Spending a quarter of that to buy out a youth contract with only one year remaining was a loss no matter how one looked at it.

So when Guardiola offered to help Lin Quan buy out his contract, Lin Quan immediately refused.

Lin Quan's contract only had one year left. Once his loan spell ended, his contract would expire as well.

At that point, he would not have to pay a cent and would become a free agent, so there was no need to waste that money.

Besides, Enrique was the one anxious to send him away now, not Lin Quan actively asking to leave.

Since that was the case, he certainly could not spend his own money on it.

"All right, then what do you have in mind?"

Seeing Lin Quan looking so confident, Guardiola asked.

"Enrique probably promised Rosell that he would clear me out, so I think we can use that to pressure him and force him to make concessions in the loan contract!"

Guardiola nodded. Since Rosell had spoken, if Enrique wanted to take the position, he would certainly do everything possible to complete the task assigned by the club president.

And the amounts involved in loan contracts were generally not large. For a young player Lin Quan's age, the loan fee would usually not exceed five hundred thousand euros.

Some clubs would even demand that the club holding the player's rights cover part or all of his wages during the loan.

Werder Bremen was a club in decline, and its wage situation had not been ideal in recent years.

Therefore, Lin Quan wanted to force Barca to make concessions in the loan contract in exchange for playing time at Werder Bremen.

Since he was going to the Bundesliga to level up, he naturally could not spend all his time warming the bench and watching his teammates play.

He needed sufficient playing time. Otherwise, he would rather not go out on loan and simply play for the youth team.

The Segunda División might not be as intense as the Bundesliga, but at least he would still get to play in the youth team.

Of course, if they could reach an agreement, going out on loan would still be better. With the club targeting him, even his future playing time in the youth team had become uncertain.

"Not bad. You've considered this very thoroughly. Young players really do need more playing time to accumulate experience in major matches."

"How about this? Since I'm still Barca's Head Coach for now, let me arrange your loan contract!"

Guardiola's contract with Barca would not expire until July. However, after the King's Cup final against Athletic Bilbao on May 26, he would leave the team, and the remaining work would be handed over to his successor.

Hearing that Guardiola wanted to step in, Lin Quan thought for a moment, then shook his head and declined the offer.

"I think you'd better not get involved!"

"Hmm? Why not?"

Guardiola was somewhat surprised. If he intervened, he would certainly side with Lin Quan and help him settle everything.

He had not expected such an arrangement to be rejected.

It left him thoroughly puzzled.

"Because you're about to leave Barca. If you arrange my loan now, and the club later leaks the details, it could easily stir up criticism."

"Especially if I make a name for myself in the Bundesliga and become a rising star, while my contract happens to expire at the same time. Barca would then be unable to bring me back, and they would very likely use this loan contract as ammunition to attack you. That would be very damaging to your reputation!"

Guardiola could not help laughing when he heard Lin Quan's words.

"It seems you're very confident about your prospects in the Bundesliga. You're already convinced that you'll become a new generation star!"

"Of course. Just look at who taught me football. That man is a Barca legend and the hottest Head Coach in football today!"

Flattery could get through anything.

Lin Quan's flattery pleased Guardiola greatly, and the negative emotions brought on by the club vanished at that moment.

"Haha, kid, I didn't have much to boast about during my playing days. I only won one Champions League trophy and one European Cup Winners' Cup, that's all."

Lin Quan curled his lips. He had won two of Europe's three major club competitions, and that was not worth boasting about?

In the end, Guardiola accepted Lin Quan's advice and did not interfere in the matter, pretending publicly that he knew nothing about it.

As before, he went to work normally and studied the opposition.

He prepared for their final league opponent and the King's Cup final a few weeks later.

During that time, he even made a trip to the youth team because of work. While Enrique nervously watched, Guardiola greeted him as usual and did not mention Lin Quan or his loan at all, as if he knew nothing.

That made Enrique breathe a sigh of relief, though it also left him suspicious. That brat actually didn't tell on me?

As for Lin Quan, when he arrived at the youth academy the next day, he went directly to Enrique and sporting director Subizarreta to discuss the club's loan arrangements.

Subizarreta was one of Rosell's trusted men. He knew Rosell wanted to clear out players close to Guardiola, so he was extremely proactive about loaning out Lin Quan, eager to demonstrate his loyalty before Rosell.

Meanwhile, Enrique could not wait to send this little troublemaker away. He did not waste words and directly took out the club's loan contract and handed it to Lin Quan.

Lin Quan gave it a rough look. Barca's loan fee for sending him to Werder Bremen was three hundred thousand euros per year. Werder Bremen would pay his wages, with a fixed annual salary of twenty-two thousand euros, the same as at Barca.

There were also appearance fees, goal bonuses, assist bonuses, win bonuses, and appearance-count bonuses.

The bonuses were not high. The appearance fee was two hundred euros, the goal bonus five hundred euros, the assist bonus two hundred euros, and the win bonus five hundred euros. Reaching twenty and thirty appearances would earn him bonuses of two thousand and three thousand euros respectively.

It was a slave contract for a youth player, after all, so Lin Quan had not expected much from the bonus amounts.

However, he believed Barca should pay that money, or at least pay his wages. After all, he was still a Barca player.

As for the loan fee, Barca was the one who wanted to send him away, so they could not demand one from Werder Bremen.

So Lin Quan stated his conditions.

"What? No loan fee? How could that be possible!?"

The moment Subizarreta heard Lin Quan's request, he immediately objected.

Barca was no ordinary club. They were a Giant Club!

When a Giant Club loaned out players, even youth-team players, they could not waive the loan fee!

Letting you use their player was already doing you a favor, and you still wanted to freeload?

They had always been the ones freeloading off others. How could they let others freeload off them?

Enrique was also in a difficult position. Although he desperately wanted to send Lin Quan away,

he did not want to break the club's operating rules. Besides, Subizarreta had far more say in this matter than he did as a youth-team coach.

If Barca's first-team Head Coach Guardiola had been sitting here, Subizarreta certainly would not have dared act so recklessly, because the Head Coach could decide whether a player stayed or left.

So Enrique also tried 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 won't have spent a single cent and will get a player for nothing. They may not value you, and they may even doubt your ability. They might wonder why Barca would rather send you away without even asking for a loan fee. That would definitely have a very negative impact on your time playing at Werder Bremen!"

To make his argument more convincing and settle the matter as quickly as possible,

Enrique continued, "We at Barca won't mistreat our players. I've had a new loan contract drafted with improved bonus terms for you. If you have no objections, sign the contract!"

Lin Quan was curious how much they could possibly increase it. Could they really do anything special with bonuses of just a few hundred euros?

However, after looking at the figures, Lin Quan froze. Enrique was truly desperate to send him away!