Chapter 638 Five balls and one meal
Charlie Potter was telling jokes with his teammates in the locker room, making everyone laugh. At this moment, he felt someone tap him on his right shoulder, but when he turned his head to look, he didn't see it. people.
Instead, a voice came from the left: "Where are you looking, Charlie?"
"Pete!" Potter didn't even turn around, he just heard the voice and shouted.
Then he was surprised to see a smiling Pete Williams, who smiled at him and said, "Good morning, Charlie."
Then he greeted others in the locker room: "Good morning, captain."
"Good morning, Mikael."
"Hi, Farek."
……
When he saw Hu Lai, the corners of his mouth curled up: "Hello, Hu."
He greeted them one by one until he reached his locker.
Behind him, the originally lively locker room gradually became quiet. Everyone, including Charlie Potter, the captain and others, looked at his back in surprise.
Hu Lai was also quite surprised - ever since he came to Leeds City, when he saw Peter Williams, he always frowned slightly and looked worried. He almost never smiled on his face and spoke little. And because he heard that this man was a rare talented player in Leeds City, he was reminded of Brother Huan before he "put himself to death" and wondered if all geniuses were like this... No, they were all like this. Cold?
Unexpectedly, when I came to the training base today, I found that Pete Williams, who had always been indifferent to him in the past, could actually greet me with a smile...
What a hell.
Was he stimulated by something last night?
Hu Lai couldn't help but speculate in his heart.
Other teammates were equally surprised by the changes in Pete Williams. They have been in contact with Williams for longer than Hulay, and naturally understand better than Hulay what Williams' changes mean.
Captain Lorenzo looked at everyone, and then asked: "Pete, your contract extension...is done?"
Williams turned around and looked at the concerned people, shaking his head: "I have agreed with the club that relegation is the most important thing now, so we will not talk about contract renewal before the end of the season."
The other players looked at each other.
Williams spread his hands and said to them: "I'm sorry that I didn't perform well during this period... I did suffer from some influences off the court. But it won't happen again. I promise everyone that I will do my best to help. The team is relegated. I don’t want my hometown team to disappear from the Premier League.”
Lorenzo walked up and patted him on the shoulder: "No one blames you, Pete, everyone understands the pressure you are under. None of us want the team to be relegated."
Charlie Potter also went up and high-fived Williams: "Hey, Pete, if you have any troubles in the future, you can come to me and I will take you to play and make sure all your troubles are gone! You know, with me You will be more likely to be favored by girls together, except for Biela..."
"FUCK, Charlie!" Spanish player Jose Vieira greeted Porter cordially with his best English word.
There was a burst of laughter in the locker room.
During the laughter, Williams glanced at Hu Lai and found that he was also laughing with the others.
Smiling, he seemed to notice someone looking at him and glanced at Williams.
Upon seeing this, Williams quickly looked away, lowered his head and continued to change clothes.
※※※
When Hu Lai turned his attention to Williams, he only saw the movement of the opponent lowering his head.
Was he looking at himself just now?
This question only flashed through Hu Lai's mind, and he didn't take it to heart.
He was more concerned about what Williams' abnormal performance today meant.
No, not an anomaly. It was abnormal for him, but judging from the performance of the captain, Charlie, and other teammates, the number one talent in the team seemed to be back to normal.
This should be good news...
The team's core midfielder said that he must concentrate on relegation, which is definitely a major benefit for Leeds City's relegation.
Hu Lai certainly doesn't want him to have to play in the English Championship after just half a season in the Premier League.
Besides, he still has another mission. Relegation is not something he has the final say on his own. Having more people to help will increase the chance of success.
When the mission is completed, you will get 200,000 points and a bottle of [Powerful Charm Essence Lotion]. Isn’t it delicious?
※※※
After a day of training, Hu Lai was left behind by Tony Clark, and the two chatted alone outside the locker room.
"Although there are still a few days until the next game, I still want to inform you in advance, Hu." Clark said, "I plan to put you in the squad for our next home game against Sydenham. .”
Hu Lai looked at him, and he looked at Hu Lai: "You don't seem surprised at all."
Hu Lai then said: "Ah? Is it too late for me to make a surprised expression now, boss?"
Clark waved his hands speechlessly: "Forget it, I didn't do it to see you surprised. I was just curious about why you weren't surprised."
"I think boss, you definitely didn't sign me here just for me to train, right?" Hu Lai explained. "So I will definitely appear, it's just a matter of time. Don't worry, boss, I'm in a good mood."
Hearing Hu Lai's explanation, Clark smiled and said: "You know, Hu. Matt once told me that after he signed you in the "Godfather of Champions" game, you went through an adaptation period of about six months. He put you on the field in the pre-season warm-up match, but you performed poorly until three months into the league before you scored your first official goal..."
Hu Lai's eyes widened. This time he was really surprised: "Is it so miserable?"
"But in fact, in the eyes of me and him, your performance is already a miracle. Oh, I forgot to mention that this performance is in 2023."
2023? Hu Lai frowned and thought for a moment. It was the second year of his career. In July of the previous year, he transferred from the Poseidon youth team to the first team of Flash Star, and then played in Flash Star for half a season in the Chinese League One, scoring 11 goals.
No wonder the boss would say this performance was a miracle - based on the game time, it was as if he had just played for a year at Flashstar and then moved to a British Championship team. It is indeed remarkable that a player who has only played in the Chinese League One can turn around and score his first goal in the English Championship in just six months. After all, the Chinese Premier League and the English Championship are not at the same level at all.
"I was talking to Sam about you before, and I thought you could score five goals in the remaining games of the season, but Sam thought I was too optimistic. I used your performance in the game as evidence, but he Sam laughed at me. He said it was just a game. How could you take your performance in the game seriously? It was really funny. I used the same reason to face Matt who recommended you to me, but in the end I still signed you. Come down..." Clark said.
"I really couldn't convince Sam with game data, so I made a bet with him. I bet you can score five goals, and he bet you can't. What do you think of this bet, Hu?"
Hu Lai first asked: "Boss, do you have any bets?"
"Twenty pounds."
"Boss, if you win, can you share half of it with me?"
Clark was surprised: "You want ten pounds? Your bonus for scoring five goals is far more than that..."
Hulay moved to Leeds City and signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with the club. The annual salary in the first year was two million pounds, which converted into a weekly salary of about 38,000 pounds. This weekly salary level is simply not enough when looking at the entire Premier League. , Leeds City is also in the middle of the pack, and has not yet reached the first level in the team.
However, the contract stipulates that all income from the image rights belongs to Hu Lai personally, which means that in addition to the club having to pay additional money if it wants to use his image, all the endorsement advertising income he receives from outside does not need to be shared with the club.
In addition, in addition to the basic salary, there are various bonuses, such as the goal award, which Hu Lai insists on. Yong Jun negotiated for a goal of 50,000 pounds.
So it's no wonder Clark said this.
Hu Lai scored five goals and it was worth 250,000 pounds. Why should he value 20 pounds?
In addition, Yong Jun also helped him negotiate some progress-related bonuses.
For example, the contract stipulates that if Hulay produces 30 goals in Leeds City - the sum of goals and assists - he will receive a bonus of two million pounds.
Also, if Hulay wins the Premier League Golden Boot in Leeds City, he will also receive an additional reward of one million pounds.
When Nevin Ball was negotiating the terms of this contract with Yong Jun, he couldn't understand how the agent had the confidence to negotiate such conditions for a player who had never played in Europe. Do you really think Hu Lai can win the Premier League Golden Boot?
How did he know that these terms were actually proposed by Hu Lai to Yong Jun, hoping that Yong Jun would add them to the contract no matter what.
Hu Lai's idea is - don't worry about whether I can do it now, just write it down. What if I did it but got no reward? Wouldn’t I lose money?
Yong Jun already understood Hu Lai's thoughts very well, so naturally he didn't hesitate and tried his best to help him add such requirements into the contract.
Leeds City also thinks it doesn't matter. Anyway, this money will be given out only when Hu Lai gets the golden boot. If he doesn't get it, the club will not lose a penny. They are also happy to join the contract, showing that they are hungry for talents.
So looking at the annual salary alone, Hu Lai doesn't earn much, but if you add in various bonuses, Hu Lai's income is actually very considerable. After all, these figures are in pounds, and if converted into RMB, they are all Have to multiply by ten. Judging from their current simple outlook on life, they already have wealth and freedom.
After listening to the coach's words, Hu Lai said: "Boss, there is a saying in China that meat the size of a mosquito is also meat. Besides, the most important thing about these ten pounds is that it is commemorative. After all, it is what I use." Five Premier League goals in exchange for it..."
Clark laughed: "Okay, I won't give you the money. If you can score five goals this season, I will allow you to indulge and treat you to a Chinese meal at the Red Chili Peppers. You see How is it?”
On the first day he came to the team, Hulay was warned by Clark, asking him to stay away from Chinese food as much as possible and strictly follow the nutritious meal recipes formulated by Ms. Schmidt.
I have to say that although Ms. Schmidt’s recipe is very healthy and nutritious and meets the physical needs of professional athletes, to a Chinese taste, it is really unpalatable...
Even though Uncle Yong, the chef, has tried his best to make the dishes as delicious as possible according to the recipes, every time he eats, it is still painful for Hu Lai.
Now that he heard that the head coach wanted to treat him to a Chinese meal, Hu Lai's eyes lit up.
After coming to Leeds, he heard that "Red Pepper" is a famous Chinese restaurant in Leeds. The Chinese food there tastes good, especially Hu Lai's hometown dish, Anton cuisine, which is even more authentic. Even the ingredients are from Jincheng. Bought.
"Boss, are you serious?" Hu Lai looked at Clark with wide eyes.
"Of course it's true. I keep my word. As long as you score five goals, I'll treat you to a meal of 'Red Chili Peppers'!" Clark said with certainty.
※※※
On the way back to his office, Tony Clark was still thinking about Hu Lai's happy appearance just now.
It seems that the bet story he made up worked and successfully inspired the young people's fighting spirit.
The price he paid was just a "red pepper" Chinese meal...
And Dohulay's five goals may make the team's hopes of relegation even greater.
If one meal can be exchanged for the team's relegation, it will be a huge profit. There is no more cost-effective deal in the world.
Young people are good, and if you give them a little sweetness, they can reach heaven.
Clark happily walked back to his office and met assistant coach Sam Landill at the door.
"Did you tell Hu about selecting him for the roster, Tony?" Randhir asked.
"Yes, Sam."
"What was his reaction? Was he nervous?"
The decision to tell Hu Lai in advance was also discussed between the two of them. I am afraid that the young man will lose his composure, so I will give him a few days to digest the decision, so that when the game day comes, his mentality will probably be calm.
Clark thought of Hu Lai's behavior after learning the news, and then suddenly realized that that kid was not as excited about being included in the competition roster as he was when he heard that I was going to treat him to Chinese food...
"Sam..."
"What?"
"I think... we thought too much before. Matt said that the reason why he thinks Hu can become a top forward is because of Hu's calmness attribute..." Seeing that Sam was a little confused, he changed his explanation. , "Well, to put it simply, this kid has a big heart. Just putting him on the game roster is impossible to make him nervous."
Sam Landill doesn't play "The Godfather," but he understands after Clark puts it another way.
"That's good. I hope his big heart can work when we let him play." (End of Chapter)