Become A Football Legend
Chapter 45: Money Money Money

Chapter 45: Money Money Money

"No problem. I’ve informed coach Morgado to schedule a medical for you; we need more data than those provided by Riederwald. It’ll be sometime this week, so get ready. We’ll also be training regularly during this international break, so I’ll be expecting you. At least for the afternoon sessions."

"I’ll definitely be here, coach."

He exchanged his final greetings with the coach as he jogged to the recovery room where all the players had disappeared into.

* * *

In a conference room located at one of the buildings at the ProfiCamp, electrochromic glasses were used on the floor-to-ceiling window with unobstructed view of both the the training pitches and expansive land leading to the Deutsche Bank Park.

At the center of the room was an elliptical table, surrounded by comfortable seats.

Down at one end of the table sat a group of people: Timmo Hardung — the club’s sporting director — Marco Kasten, Javi, Lukas, and two members of the legal team.

"I’m glad you decided to sign with us, Luke. I promise you won’t regret it," Hardung started after the men finished exchanging pleasantries.

"Thank you. Even though I’ve only been here for a few months, I love this club. There’s no reason for me to leave to any other club."

"Hahaha... Yes, this is your home. The club loves you too, and we’ll prove that today.

I spoke to the coach, and he let me know you’re gonna be an integral part of the huge project we’re building here in Frankfurt."

"I’m glad to hear that. I will do my best to contribute whenever I’m needed."

"Okay then! Now let’s talk numbers," Marco interjected, sensing his time had come to show his skills as an agent.

Hardung turned to Marco as they began discussing Lukas’s first professional contract.

They discussed the contract duration first. This was a rather short decision as Lukas had made it clear to Marco earlier that he wanted to be at the club as long as possible.

The maximum contract length for a minor is three years according to FIFA and the DFB/DFL follows the same rules.

They agreed on a three-year deal which meant Lukas will be contracted with the club until he’s 19.

"Okay salary expectations, what are you thinking Marco?" Hardung asked as he sat upright, he knew the important conversation was about to begin.

Javi and Lukas also perked up their ears. This was a part of the conversation they weren’t so knowledgeable in.

Player salary had never been a matter of public discourse except for top world-class players, so they didn’t know what to expect for a player like Lukas who had only proved himself with the reserve team.

"I was thinking, progressive base salary structure. €1 million the first year, and a €250 thousand increase per year for the next two years," Marco proposed.

His words made everyone in the room shocked.

Lukas tried to hide his amusement, and barely managed to.

Hardung didn’t even try to hide his, though.

"Marco, you’re not serious, are you? A million in his first year? Come on! The kid had a good season in the Regionalliga. We still don’t know how he’ll perform with the first team."

"How many 15-year-olds do you know that could put up half his numbers in twice the time it took him?

Don’t act like I’m asking for something outrageous. This is an amount several clubs would gladly offer."

"No way. That’s too much. €500,000 for the first year and we’ll keep the €250,000 increase per year in the contract."

"You can’t be serious, Timmo. 500 for a wonderkid who still has all the time in the world to play?

If in the next two years his performance is even half as good as it was in the first half of this season, how much do you think clubs would be willing to offer to take him off your hands? In this current transfer market. Just think about that.

You’ll be paying less than €4 million in three years for a player who could break the club’s transfer record in three year’s time."

"I understand your point, and the club hopes he prospers here, but think about the locker room dynamics if it gets out that the club is giving the youngest player on the team €20,000 per week. Or if the media gets a whiff of it. It might become a source of more pressure on Lukas."

"Pressure? What is that?" Lukas asked, with a confused expression.

"Hahahaha," the people in the room burst out laughing.

The atmosphere which was getting more intense since the salary negotiations started, became less tense.

"You heard the kid, he doesn’t even know what that is," Marco continued, "okay let’s do this, €900k for the first year, and the increases as earlier agreed."

Timmo Hardung rested his elbow on the table and his hands on his chin as he contemplated Marco’s new proposal.

"He’s right that if Lukas performs well in the next few years, we could get a substantial amount of money for him if we had to sell him."

After a few minutes of silent calculation of the risks and rewards, he made up his mind.

"Deal. €900k base salary for the first year but only if there is no release clause included in the contract ."

"You must be kidding."

Another round of grueling negotiations began.

Unlike in Spain, where release clauses were mandatory for a professional contract, they were optional in Germany. Clubs don’t want them because a release clause might let a player leave for less than his market value, and players want them because it can make exiting the club easier if things don’t go as planned.

* * *

After about three hours of negotiations, they could only agree on the contract duration, the base salary, and the release clause.

Marco was adamant about including a release clause, and Hardung and his lawyers were against having one.

A compromise was reached, though, instead of a hard release clause, a "good-faith-negotiation" clause of €60M was agreed for non-German clubs only.

This meant if a non-German club was willing to pay €60M or more, Eintracht Frankfurt will allow them to contact Lukas and they will also open negotiations in good faith.

They were still not obligated to sell him for that price, though.

Other terms like goal, assist, appearance, and signing bonuses would be finalized at a later date between Marco and Hardung.

After sitting through three hours of negotiations, Lukas was confident of Marco’s ability to handle it for him.

Of course he and Javi would still go through every clause in the final contract before signing.

* * *

One week later. 18th November, 2024.

Eintracht Frankfurt offers top deal to 15-year-old star.

Kehl scrolled through the article visible on the iPad screen he was holding.

It was about Lukas’s professional contract.

After Frankfurt denied their request to approach Lukas, Dortmund exhausted every possible legal channel to reach him. They reached out to both him and Javi through several third party agents, but it was clear he didn’t want the move.

"Too bad, he would have thrived in Dortmund."

"This isn’t included in the article, but our sources told us he was given a million Euros as base annual salary," the lady, presumably his secretary, who was standing in front of his desk said.

"A seven-figure salary for a player who had a decent half season in the reserve team? They are taking a huge risk," Kehl replied.

"But it would pay off massively if he turns out to be as good as they believe him to be," he thought.

"So what do we do now, sir?"

"What else can we do? If we can get him, we have to look elsewhere.

How are the talks with Chelsea for Carney Chukwuemeka? Since we’re unable to get Lukas, we should at least be able to get him."

"It’s progressing well, sir. I believe we should be able to complete the transfer when the window opens."

"Good. Also, I spoke to Denise Bellingham two days ago, I think we should focus our efforts on bringing Jobe over next season."

"Alright, sir," the lady bowed slightly before leaving the office.

"Lukas. Not even listening to our offer was a poor career move, and you’ll learn that on the pitch."

He smiled as he tapped his pen on his desk.

* * *

"Mr. Professional Footballer. Greetings to you," João said jokingly as he mock-bowed when Lukas walked into the class.

A few classmates burst out laughing when Lukas turned right around and walked out the door.

"Oh come back, I’m kidding!" He screamed as he went after Lukas.

"All of a sudden you’re a rich man."

"No I’m not, I haven’t signed the contract yet. We just opened discussions. I won’t even be able to sign it until I’m 16."

"Yes, and we have to celebrate your birthday in style."

"What style? I’m just gonna have a little gathering at home."

"Yeah, no way in hell will that happen under my watch. Leave the planning to me, it’s gonna be a great day."

"Hmmmm... I don’t trust you, at all!"

A/N: Getting back on schedule tomorrow. Enjoy today’s Chapter.

Please help me with your GTs and Power Stones if you have some to spare.

Have a wonderful day/night.

Love y’all.

-Writ.