The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Back then, Shahin’s contract had a clause stating that if any Bundesliga team was willing to pay a 6-million-euro transfer fee, they could sign him from Dortmund.

Seems ridiculous, doesn’t it?

Actually, not at all!

Because when this contract was signed, Dortmund was still on the verge of bankruptcy, and Shahin was just starting to make a name for himself.

A 6-million-euro transfer fee was considered very high in the Bundesliga at the time.

Some people might wonder, why didn’t Dortmund just hurry up and renew Shahin’s contract?

The answer is also simple: they were busy and didn’t get around to it.

By the time they got around to it and started negotiations, they couldn’t reach an agreement, so it just kept dragging on until now.

The exact annual salary Shahin demanded to renew his contract with Dortmund was, of course, unknown to outsiders.

But considering Wang Shuo’s 8-million-euro annual salary after his own contract renewal, Shahin’s demands would have certainly increased as well.

Time was on their side, after all.

As a result, this season, the team had a breakthrough in the Champions League.

"The 6-million-euro release clause is only for Bundesliga teams; non-Bundesliga teams aren’t eligible. But imagine, signing Shahin, who has a market valuation of 25 million euros, for just 6 million. Who wouldn’t want that?"

Foyelner’s words silenced everyone.

You can’t think of clubs as being too noble or sentimental.

At the end of the day, profit is king!

For example, a precedent was set in the summer of 2009.

In 2005, Real Madrid signed Negredo from Rayo Vallecano. After two years of developing him without giving him a real chance, they sold him to Almeria in ’07, but the deal included a two-year buy-back clause.

After an outstanding performance at Almeria, Negredo’s market value skyrocketed to 12 million euros.

Real Madrid, seeing a chance for profit, immediately activated the buy-back clause, repurchasing Negredo for 5 million euros.

But Real Madrid didn’t play him. They immediately turned around and sold him to Sevilla for 15 million euros.

Just like that, they made a 10-million-euro profit.

Get it?

If Shahin wants to play abroad, there are plenty of ways to make it happen.

A German team could buy him from Dortmund for 6 million euros, then turn around and sell him to a foreign club for a higher price, pocketing the difference.

Of course, that would be a last resort.

If possible, a player would rather not do that and would prefer to negotiate a direct transfer.

But the problem now is that no club would be foolish enough to negotiate with Dortmund based on his market valuation.

They will undoubtedly use that 6-million-euro release clause as their reference point.

For Dortmund, this deal is a loss no matter how you look at it.

And you can’t blame the player for it, either.

Why didn’t Dortmund hurry up and renew his contract?

Why did they have to drag things out until now?

"Right now, in the Bundesliga, Bayern has been in contact with Shahin’s team the most. And then there’s Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barça, Manchester City, Juventus, AC Milan..."

At this, Foyelner raised an eyebrow at Wang Shuo. "He’s much more sought-after than you are right now."

Everyone chuckled at that.

There was a high barrier to entry for signing Wang Shuo.

But for the top clubs, signing Shahin was a low-risk move.

A surefire profit with no chance of loss, in fact!

"The Marca Newspaper is leaking this story now not just to build hype for the Champions League semifinal and shake our morale, but also to make it clear to Shahin that Real Madrid is very interested in him."

Hearing this, Wang Shuo finally had a general understanding of the whole situation.

But he still felt a bit unsettled.

In the transfer market, players really were just like commodities on a shelf with price tags.

He had always known it, but experiencing it firsthand still felt awful.

The Shahin he knew was a truly great teammate and player, deeply attached to Dortmund.

’Sometimes, it really is just a matter of making a choice!’

It was just like an employee changing jobs.

You work at a company for a few years, rise to a mid-level position, and feel a strong attachment to the place. But you know very well that the company has more or less hit its growth ceiling.

Then, an industry giant comes along and tries to poach you with a high salary and a senior position. Do you go?

Transfers were just like that.

If you leave, you might discover you can’t fit in at the new company, fail to produce results, and end up leaving in disgrace before long.

You might also find that the new company’s growth isn’t what you expected and its performance plummets, while your old company breaks through its bottleneck and soars to new heights.

’If Shahin’s transfer is already this complicated, mine will be even harder.’

At least Shahin was going in as a mid-level manager. If Wang Shuo were to transfer, he’d be expected to be the CEO, marry the beautiful heiress, and reach the pinnacle of life.

That was why Wang Shuo was being extremely cautious about his own transfer.

...

He didn’t know if it was because of the transfer rumors, but during training over the next two days, Wang Shuo felt that the team’s atmosphere was a little strange.

Since Sven Bender was carrying a minor injury, Klopp still had Shahin in the starting lineup for the Bundesliga Matchday 30 game that weekend, partnering with Gundogan in midfield as a double pivot.

It was a home game against Freiburg.

In the first half hour, Dortmund was unable to score against Freiburg.

Then, in the 28th minute, Shahin suddenly went down with an injury and had to be taken off the field.

The medical staff carried him off directly on a stretcher.

Wang Shuo, who was on the bench, quickly walked over.

"Marcus, how is he?" Wang Shuo asked the team doctor, Dr. Marcus Braun.

Wang Shuo then looked at Shahin on the stretcher. "Are you okay, Nuri?"