The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 98 - 44: Long-Distance Dash! Reject Bayern? Iโm Going to Outwork the World
Everyone voiced their agreement. ๐ป๐โฏโฏ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฐ๐๐๐.๐ธ๐๐ฎ
This was the first time Wang Shuo had invited them out for a meal, and they were all definitely going.
Everyone knew very well.
Based on Wang Shuo's current performance, a player like him wouldn't be at Mainz for long.
He might even be bought out during the winter break.
In the future, they might not even get another chance to sit down and have a meal together.
So, they all cherished this opportunity.
They'd take a few photos as mementos. If Wang Shuo became famous later, they'd have more material to brag with.
Although they had lost the match, Klopp was also in a good mood.
He didn't even blame the players for conceding three goals, which made everyone feel quite grateful to Wang Shuo.
If it weren't for Wang Shuo's goal, they probably would have been in for it.
But Klopp didn't single out Wang Shuo for praise in the locker room either.
After all, the team had lost.
In the press conference that followed, Klopp publicly gave high praise to Wang Shuo's goal. He also spoke highly of Wang Shuo temporarily taking the top spot on the scorer's chart.
"With his current performance, I wouldn't be surprised if he's still in this position at the end of the season!"
This was the highest praise he could give Wang Shuo.
'An 18-year-old wanting to be the Bundesliga's top scorer?'
Everyone thought Klopp was just lavishing praise on his favorite protรฉgรฉ.
However, what surprised Klopp was that after the press conference, Wang Shuo was actually waiting for him in his office.
"What's up?"
"Boss, could you... lend me some money?" Wang Shuo asked, a bit embarrassed.
But Klopp himself had said to come to him if he had any problems.
And who was Klopp?
He figured out the reason in an instant.
Wang Shuo had just said he was treating everyone to a meal, and Klopp had also agreed to go.
Coming to borrow money now obviously meant Wang Shuo was broke.
Why was he broke?
Because the club owed him his salary.
Sometimes, Klopp also found it pretty ridiculous.
In other industries, delaying wage payments could cause huge trouble.
But in the professional football industry, unpaid wages were an incredibly common phenomenon.
Forget Germany; just look at the Premier League, La Liga, and Serie Aโunpaid wages were rampant.
La Liga had player strikes over unpaid wages almost every season.
"Don't ask me."
Both embarrassed and frustrated, Klopp forcefully slapped his own heavily bearded face. SLAP, SLAP.
"I'm completely tapped out."
He was owed money too.
"I'll go find Christian later. I'll make him pay you something, even if he has to cover it himself."
"Thanks, Boss," Wang Shuo nodded.
He had learned about the unpaid wages from Subotic.
The pay was always late, but it always came. No need to worry.
Given Mainz's current situation, they were just waiting for the funds from the German Professional Football League.
Once the payment arrived, the back pay would be settled.
"By the way, the chairman just told me something. It's about you."
Wang Shuo froze for a moment, looking at his coach quizzically.
"Hennes offered five million euros to buy you for Bayern during the winter break."
"Five million euros?" Wang Shuo was stunned by the number.
'That's 50 million RMB!'
'My God, that's 50 million.'
But the next moment, a sense of panic set in. He looked at Klopp. "Did the club... agree?"
In Wang Shuo's current situation, if Mainz accepted, he really couldn't refuse.
Klopp let out a laugh and shook his head. "Christian refused."
Wang Shuo instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
'If I went to Bayern, where would I get any playing time?'
Podolski, the "German Prince," was a star player on the national team, and even Lลvรฉr had personally spoken up for him.
But at Bayern, he was still stuck warming the bench.
"You're still young, Wang, but I'm sure you know that the club didn't reject Bayern because of sentiment or any other factor. There was only one reason."
"I know." Wang Shuo nodded heavily.
"Boss, don't you worry. I'll work harder than ever!"
Klopp sighed inwardly. 'Wang Shuo is very mature for his age, and very smart.'
But professional football has always been ruthless.
In this world, letting emotions guide your decisions was suicide.
What everyone really valued were the cold calculations of self-interest hidden beneath a veneer of warmth.
Mainz never considered Wang Shuo to be a "not for sale" player.
Not selling him to Bayern had nothing to do with old grudges or rivalries.
There was only one reason: Bayern's offer wasn't high enough!
Mainz believed Wang Shuo's value could still rise.
Wang Shuo didn't think there was anything wrong with that.
It was mutually beneficial; each party took what they needed.
Before he went abroad, Coach Gao had already broken all of this down for him.
Since he had come here, he had to accept this set of rules in the European Football Scene.
Besides, Wang Shuo also felt that he could still continue to improve.
'It's too early to go to Bayern now!'
Someday in the future, when he was strong enough and had a say in his own career, then he could change the rules or make his own.
But that was definitely not now.
...
Klinsmann's premonition was correct.
Although Mainz lost 3-1 to Bayern at home, in the court of public opinion after the match, Mainz received almost nothing but praise.
Perhaps it was precisely because the German media and fans had such low expectations for Mainz that the team's ability to go toe-to-toe with Bayern for most of the match was so notable.
It came as a tremendous surprise to both the media and the fans.
Especially Wang Shuo.
The next day, the Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung featured the match in the most prominent spot of its sports section, using a photo of Wang Shuo.
The headline read: Mainz Defeated at Home, But Unearths a Sensational Prodigy.
In the report, the Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung specifically highlighted Wang Shuo's long-distance solo run.
