Chapter 138 Nike Steps In, Vowing to Sign Lin Quan for 25 Million!
The unexpected fame brought more benefits than Lin Quan had imagined!
When Lin Quan unexpectedly rose to fame due to his performance in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, it caught the attention of another sports giant, Nike.
After watching Lin Quan's highlights from league and national team matches, and witnessing his skyrocketing popularity on social media, Nike immediately realized that he could be the next Messi or Ronaldo-level player.
They had to sign him immediately!
So, they promptly sent representatives from the United States to Europe to contact Lin Quan and his agent, hoping to persuade him to join Nike as their sponsored athlete.
Nike has not signed many football players in Europe, with notable stars like Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic, Neymar, and Falcao under their banner. Previous signings like Henry, Ronaldinho, and Drogba have either retired or are at the end of their careers, unable to carry Nike's flag in the football world anymore.
Although 28-year-old Ronaldo is still in his prime, his peak period can only last for four to five years at most. Nike needed to find a new influential player as soon as possible to succeed Ronaldo and represent their brand in the football world.
This was why they spared no expense in signing Neymar!
Nike had high hopes for Neymar because many football experts believed he had the potential to be the third player after Messi and Ronaldo.
However, with Lin Quan's sudden emergence, Nike now had a new choice.
External evaluations of Lin Quan and his excellent performance in the Bundesliga were enough to prove that he was a truly talented player.
Signing a player like him, with his existing achievements as a guarantee, wouldn't lead to heavy losses for Nike due to misjudgment.
Moreover, Lin Quan is still very young, with immense potential for the future.
Signing him before he fully establishes his fame and value could save Nike a lot of costs.
Furthermore, from a business development perspective, Lin Quan is Asian. Signing him might help Nike expand its business in the Greater China region, something Neymar couldn't achieve.
Therefore, after thorough analysis by Nike's professional analysts, they concluded that Lin Quan's importance ranked second only to Ronaldo, surpassing Neymar.
So, they had to act quickly and decisively. There couldn't be any delays.
If other brands signed him before Nike, it would be a huge loss for them.
...
Having had previous experience with Adidas, Pere was not surprised by Nike's visit.
However, after they presented the contract offer, Pere's heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
Nike was indeed generous!
Adidas was only willing to offer €9 million over three years, while Nike immediately offered €21 million over five years.
The contract amount doubled, with just two extra years.
On average, he would receive €4.2 million per year from Nike.
That's a whopping 40% increase compared to Adidas!
However, after seeing the contract amount, Pere shook his head and refused:
"Sorry, we can't sign on this contract from your company."
"Why? Have you already signed with another company?"
Nike's football director, Babelli, was surprised. He thought they were too late again.
As Lin Quan currently plays in the Bundesliga, Adidas was the most likely company to approach him.
The thought of Adidas signing such a promising player filled Babelli with concern.
"Hehe, although this involves business secrets, seeing the sincerity of your company, I can tell you that my player has not signed with any company yet."
Upon hearing Pere's words, Babelli breathed a sigh of relief.
Not signed yet, that's good. Not being signed meant there was still a chance for Nike.
However, just moments ago, Pere had rejected signing with them. Why?
His first thought was that Pere wasn't satisfied with the contract amount. So, he tentatively asked:
"Since Lin Quan hasn't signed with other companies, why not consider Nike?"
Pere knew the other party was testing his attitude, but he didn't intend to hide anything:
"My player needs a contract that matches his strength and status. Your company's sincerity is lacking in that regard."
Sure enough, it was about the contract amount. Babelli instantly understood.
This problem was both easy and difficult to solve.
Easy because it only required money to solve.
Difficult because his authority wasn't enough, and he might not be able to afford the price the other party wanted.
"Lin Quan is indeed a very talented and promising player. We at Nike are very sincere about cooperating with him."
Seeing that the other party wasn't moved, Babelli gritted his teeth and offered an amount he thought was very high, but also close to his personal limit:
"The duration remains five years, but the contract amount is increased to €25 million. How does that sound to you?"
Pere raised an eyebrow. This amount was raised by €4 million, averaging €5 million per year.
Although not as big as Ronaldo's contract, it was a 70% increase compared to Adidas's contract.
Was this the other party's limit?
Feeling the sincerity of your company, I will convey your sincerity to Lin."
Upon hearing the other party's response, Babelli finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With this statement, this trip wasn't in vain.
He could go back and wait for the news!
...
"5 years, €25 million? From Nike?"
After receiving Pere's call and hearing about Nike's offer, Lin Quan was also a bit surprised.
It was said that Nike was generous, and today he truly experienced it.
This price was much higher than Adidas's, indeed very attractive.
However, for certain reasons, he wasn't interested in Nike or Adidas.
Plus, the duration of the contract was too long for his liking. If he did sign, he would be the one at a disadvantage.
"Don't rush to answer them. Let's see how other brands react!"
He wasn't in a hurry now; it was the sponsors who were anxious.
He wanted to use Nike and Adidas's offers to gauge the reactions of other brands.
See if they were interested in him.
...
With Adidas's power in Germany, they quickly got wind of Nike's contact with Lin Quan.
"Have you found out the inside information? How much did Nike offer?"
Concerned about Nike's contact with Lin Quan, Adidas was a bit worried.
Nike was always generous, not stingy with money.
Their influence in football might not be as strong as Adidas, but they were willing to spend!
Jimmy Dono was worried that Nike would offer Lin Quan a high price, and more worried that Lin Quan would be tempted by the amount and sign with Nike.
Although it had been less than half a month since their last contact with Lin Quan, during this time, Lin Quan's influence in European football had greatly increased once again.
He was no longer the unknown little star from before, but a true superstar.
What's worse, with his growth rate and the spread of his influence in football, he had already begun to move towards the path of a super giant.
This made Adidas, who was previously confident in their offer, also become uncertain.
If this continued, if Adidas wanted to sign him, they would probably have to increase the contract offer.
"Not yet, but Nike is always generous. Our people said that Babelli left Werder Bremen with a smile on his face, indicating that their contact went smoothly. Nike probably offered a very high price!"
Upon hearing this, Jimmy Dono couldn't sit still:
"Send someone to Werder Bremen again!"
"Is it the same contract as before?"
The assistant asked.
"The amount has increased by €1 million. Offer him €10 million over three years. This time he should be satisfied, right?"
Jimmy gritted his teeth, as if these €1 million were cut from his own flesh.
Faced with Adidas's second offer, Lin Quan immediately rejected it upon hearing the contract amount.
An increase of €1 million?
Wasn't that almost the same as not increasing at all?
Adidas's offer could be said to lack sincerity.
... In the 31st round of the Bundesliga, Werder Bremen faced Bayer Leverkusen away.
For Werder Bremen, this was a battle of revenge.
They had previously suffered a 2-4 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen, and had even had their unbeaten streak at home broken by their opponents.
Due to De Bruyne's absence, the team had to rely solely on Lin Quan to lead.
So, Werder Bremen wasn't satisfied with the loss from the last game.
Since the second half of the season began, Werder Bremen's form had been improving, and their performance in matches had been on the rise.
So, the players were determined to regain their pride against Bayer Leverkusen and avenge their previous defeat!
This match was not crucial for Werder Bremen; their points were already enough to secure a Champions League spot for next season.
As for whether they finished third or second, it didn't make much difference since they wouldn't have European competition points. They would likely be placed in the third tier in the Champions League.
But for Bayer Leverkusen, this match was crucial.
With Schalke 04 having already beaten Hamburg, if Bayer Leverkusen lost this match, their lead would narrow to just 3 points.
With three rounds left in the league, a 3-point lead was not secure.
Therefore, Bayer Leverkusen needed at least a draw from this match.
Although other teams feared Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen did not.
After all, they had previously defeated Werder Bremen and had a certain psychological advantage.
At the start of the game, Bayer Leverkusen aimed to catch their opponents off guard with an aggressive start, just like last time.
However, they didn't expect Werder Bremen to have the same idea, and Werder Bremen's attack was much more threatening.
Just one minute into the game, Werder Bremen made a high-quality shot that posed a huge threat to Bayer Leverkusen's goal.
Startled, Bayer Leverkusen quickly regrouped defensively to withstand Werder Bremen's initial onslaught.
They focused their defense on Werder Bremen's key attacking players, just like they did in their previous victory, which had effectively neutralized Werder Bremen's attack.
However, this time, their strategy didn't work as well, and they even seemed to overcomplicate things.
With De Bruyne in the lineup, their defensive focus couldn't contain Werder Bremen's attack.
De Bruyne also had strong finishing abilities.
In the 20th minute of the first half, after a series of passes with his teammates, De Bruyne received the ball near the edge of the penalty area.
With a shot speed of over 100 kilometers per hour, he blasted the ball past Bayer Leverkusen's goalkeeper to open the scoring for the team.
After a whole season of cooperation with his teammates, Lin Quan and De Bruyne were completely familiar with each other's playing habits.
And their teammates could keep up with their rhythm. This goal was initiated by Lin Quan on the wing, drawing away defensive players to create space for De Bruyne's long-range shot.
Moreover, the team's center-forward, Arnautovic, acted as a pivot, returning the ball to De Bruyne, allowing him to comfortably take the high-quality shot in an undefended situation.
Bayer Leverkusen's players thought the goal was just luck for their opponents, not realizing it was a result of Werder Bremen's tactics.
And they soon paid the price for not realizing this!
In the 38th minute of the first half, almost using the same approach, Lin Quan initiated the attack again, dribbling into the penalty area to attract defensive attention before passing to a teammate.
The teammate then passed to a better-positioned player who made the shot.
It was De Bruyne again, in a position closer to the goal than before, who once again made a long-range shot.
This shot was even faster than the previous one, catching the goalkeeper off guard, who could only watch as the ball flew into the net.
2:0!
De Bruyne, who missed the last game, scored twice to prove himself to Bayer Leverkusen's fans.
Underestimating him and not focusing on defending him would have serious consequences!
Bayer Leverkusen clearly learned their lesson and immediately strengthened their defense against De Bruyne, denying him opportunities for long-range shots.
However, with Werder Bremen, led by the twin stars, they weren't afraid of one-on-one marking.
After all, if you marked one, you couldn't mark the other.
Especially when the other was a dribbling wizard!
So, when Bayer Leverkusen focused their defensive efforts on De Bruyne, Lin Quan immediately stepped up.
In the 53rd minute, his breakthrough caused a foul by Wollscheid.
While receiving a yellow card, Wollscheid also gave Werder Bremen a good free kick opportunity.
De Bruyne didn't choose to shoot directly but instead engaged in a tactical cooperation with Lin Quan.
After receiving the ball, Lin Quan quickly broke through to the right side of the penalty area, drawing Bayer Leverkusen players to defend him before passing the ball back to De Bruyne.
After receiving the ball, De Bruyne made a through pass, playing it behind the defensive players.
Bayer Leverkusen's defenders couldn't react in time, watching as Lin Quan charged past them in the penalty area.
In desperation, they resorted to fouling Lin Quan.
The referee was near the foul spot and clearly saw the pulling action by Bayer Leverkusen players.
So, he decisively showed a yellow card, warning the opponent and pointing to the penalty spot.
Lin Quan quickly got up from the ground and walked towards the penalty spot. If the opponent hadn't fouled him, it wouldn't be easy to score with many defenders in the penalty area!
But since the opponent gave him a gift, Lin Quan naturally wouldn't be polite.
He personally took the penalty he created and calmly scored, expanding the lead to 3 goals.
With this goal, Bayer Leverkusen basically had no hope of a comeback.
Schaffner quickly made personnel adjustments, substituting young players Felkrug and Petersen to give them more playing time.
As the season approached its end, Werder Bremen's coaching staff had to consider a very realistic question: how would they play next season without Lin Quan and De Bruyne?
(End of this chapter)