A Tug-of-War! Mendes and Raiola Both Try to Poach Tang Long-Will He Change Agents?
When Cristiano Ronaldo's agent Mendes, saw that he was in a daze and not answering his questions, which was very unusual compared to his usual behavior, he was shocked.
He curiously leaned over and saw the real-time rankings of goals scored by players from the Top Five Leagues on Cristiano Ronaldo's phone screen.
With his sharp eyes, Mendes spotted Tang Long, who had scored six goals in two rounds and was ranked number one!
Mendes' eyelids twitched, and he couldn't help but smile faintly, thinking, "As expected, the only one who can make you so anxious right now is Tang."
He comforted Cristiano Ronaldo, saying, "Dear Cristiano, don't look at the rankings anymore. Rankings are only temporary. Remember what I told you? There are many strikers in this world who are like Dom, whose brilliance is fleeting, but there is only one Cristiano Ronaldo!"
Realizing his thoughts had been read, Cristiano Ronaldo quickly turned off his phone screen and pretended to be nonchalant, saying:
"Tang? I don't care what threat a kid under 20 could pose to me. Let him win an UEFA Champions League first before comparing himself to me!"
Mendes immediately gave Cristiano Ronaldo a thumbs-up as encouragement:
"That's right! I'm going to Real Madrid tomorrow morning to discuss your contract renewal with Florentino. It's a crucial period for contract renewal negotiations. I don't need to emphasize what you need to do, do I?"
"Of course not, I understand," Cristiano Ronaldo confidently, his words brimming with dominance. "I'll keep scoring, score big goals, let Real Madrid see my value, let them know that Real Madrid can't do without me. Real Madrid with me and Real Madrid without me are completely two different teams!"
The next day.
Instead of going to Real Madrid to find Florentino, Mendes headed to the airport and flew to Manchester.
He now has to do something even more important than renewing Cristiano Ronaldo's contract—poach Tang Long from Ronaldo!
Based on his experience, this diminutive the Portuguese judged that although it is still the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo taking turns dominating the football world, both of them are 29 and 31 years old, respectively, and their careers have entered the second half.
Major injuries can instantly shorten their professional careers.
Mendes didn't discuss the matter of poaching Tang Long with Cristiano Ronaldo yesterday to prevent an overreaction, but deep down, Mendes knew he had to do it because:
"The current football world belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but the future of football will definitely belong to Tang Long!"
Top-class strikers possess a keen sense of positioning and scoring ability in the penalty area, enabling them to always reach the ball before their opponents.
Top-tier professional agents also possess a keen sense for a player's development, capable of predicting their trajectory five to ten years from now.
Mendes, a world-renowned agent, not only has a keen sense of opportunity but also effective methods.
He certainly wouldn't openly tell Ronaldo, "Hey, Brazil fatso, I'm in Manchester, I'm here to poach your players!"
Mendes changed his clothes, put on sunglasses and a hat, and wandered around Tang Long's house, which he had inquired about beforehand, for a while to make sure that no reporters noticed him.
"Splash—" Tang Long pushed open the window of the second-floor bedroom and watered the plants on the balcony.
"He's home, that's good!" Mendes excitedly rushed to the door and rang the doorbell.
Tang Long had seen Mendes on television and recognized him, so he politely invited him into the living room.
Mendes cut to the chase and extended an olive branch directly.
"Tang, your potential is enormous. I believe you can become the world's number one. You need a professional agent like me, not a half-baked one like Ronaldo. I can give you something he doesn't have."
Tang Long did not refuse immediately, but let Mendes continue.
Mendes developed a plan for Tang Long from the perspective of player development.
According to his predictions, Manchester City has at least a 90% chance of winning the Premier League title this season, around a 50% chance of winning the UEFA Champions League, and Tang Long has a more than 60% chance of winning the Premier League Golden Boot and a 30% chance of European Golden Shoe.
"I believe that within three to four years, you can turn all those probabilities into reality, win everything at Manchester City, and by then you will be 23 years old and have won at least one Ballon d'Or. Then I will arrange for you to move to Real Madrid."
"And then what happened after you went to Real Madrid?" Tang Long countered.
Although Mendes is preparing for Cristiano Ronaldo's contract extension with Real Madrid to extend into 2021, he definitively stated that Cristiano Ronaldo will no longer be with Real Madrid by then.
"After Cristiano Ronaldo left, they desperately needed a leader, and at that time, you were the one to carry the banner of Real Madrid's attack!"
"You will play for Real Madrid until you are at least 30 years old, win at least four Ballon d'Or, and become the best player in the world, just like Cristiano Ronaldo is now. After that, you will have many choices in your life, whether to continue in the Top Five Leagues or go out to make money, both are good choices."
"Tang, the current football world belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but the future of football will definitely belong to you. I have a good eye for talent, and I'm absolutely right!" Mendes said decisively.
After seeing Mendes off, Tang Long sat alone in the living room, drinking coffee.
He couldn't help but smile knowingly, recalling how Mendes had already planned out his career for the next ten years when they first met.
Everyone says that Mendes is considerate of his players and not a greedy agent; at least, based on their conversation just now, Tang Long felt that was the case.
"Ding-dong--"
Five minutes later, the doorbell rang again.
Tang Long thought Mendes had left something there, so he went to open the door.
When the door opened, Tang Long was startled!
A burly man, a size larger than Mendes, stood in front of his door, sweating profusely, dragging a suitcase, and smiling at him.
"Mr. Raiola, what brings you here?" Tang Long was quite surprised by the man's arrival.
Raiola really didn't treat himself like an outsider. Without waiting for Tang Long's invitation, he walked in, took off his shoes, casually picked up a pair of slippers from the floor, and plopped down on the living room sofa, muttering to himself, "Ugh, I just flew in from Milan, I'm so thirsty, Tang, could you get me a glass of water?"
After finding out why Raiola had come, Tang Long gave him a bottle of chilled coconut juice.
Back when Tang Long was just beginning to make a name for himself at Inter Milan, Raiola approached him, wanting to become his agent.
At that time, not only Raiola, but also Maradona and Ronaldo extended olive branches to him.
According to the system's rewards, choosing Ronaldo would be more beneficial to improving one's abilities, which is why Raiola did not win Tang Long's favor.
Raiola was more glib than Mendes, beating around the bush for a while before the topic turned to salary.
"Tang, as far as I know, your salary at Manchester City is Pound Sterling 180,000 per week, right? Sigh, what's that in an annual salary? The UK really give me a headache. Why do they have to calculate it by week? Wouldn't it be better to calculate it by year? Okay, okay, we'll calculate it by week."
Last season, Manchester City's highest-paid players were Aguero and Yaya Toure.
Both of them earn Pound Sterling 240,000 a week.
David Silva ranked third, earning Pound Sterling 200,000 a week.
Tang Long earns Pound Sterling 180,000 a week and has four years left on his contract, placing him right at the bottom of the top tier.
This season, Yaya Toure left, and Tang Long's salary rose to third in the team.
"You should be number one in the team! At the very least, you should be on par with Agüero! You should know that Icardi next door earns Pound Sterling 200,000, and you earn less than him. I have to ask you, where is the justice?!"
Raiola looked indignant and raised his voice.
"Your contribution to the team is far greater than Agüero's, so why shouldn't you be number one? If I were you transferring from Ronaldo to my team, I guarantee I'd extend your contract within a month, turning four years into five, and raising your salary to 240,000 euros per week!"
"Of course, that's far from enough," Raiola rubbed his hands excitedly, as if he were at a negotiating table. "Next year, I'll arrange a transfer for you— Real Madrid, Barca, Bayern, or somewhere else—you can choose whichever you want. You can even go to Manchester United if you want, hahaha!"
"If Manchester City wants to keep you, their condition is a weekly wage of £360,000, and I'll double that for you!"
"If they don't agree, with my connections in the football world, I guarantee I can get you a team that can afford a weekly wage of 360,000, that's what you're worth!"
Raiola continued his discussion, saying he wanted to make Tang Long the world's highest-paid and most commercially valuable player.
"At that time, you will be like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with advertising and endorsement fees making up the majority of your annual income, and salary not even being the main part. You will become the richest male athlete in football, no, the richest male athlete in the world!"
Countless banknotes danced above Raiola's head before falling like snowflakes. He stretched out his hands, grabbing at them, a decadent smile spreading across his face.