From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Another Upgrade! First Level 4 Skill!

On October 20th, Ma’el watched the away match of Sheffield against Hull City at home.

Evans, who had recently been in a goal drought, scored twice in this match, helping the home team secure a 2-0 victory.

Not bad!

They played three rounds in October, with 2 wins and 1 draw, earning 7 points.

Adding the previous 16 points, they now have a total of 23 points, slowly securing their place in the Championship promotion playoffs.

This rank might slip, but falling back into the relegation zone is almost impossible, unless Sheffield’s management suddenly poaches a Dutch young coach named Ten Hag from Eindhoven.

After watching the game, Ma’el went to the training base for extra practice on long shots.

After completing the morning’s special training, he was just one step away from the final breakthrough.

”Boom! Boom! Boom...!”

Shots resounded one after another, sometimes accompanied by the sound of powerful strikes, with soccer balls constantly flying towards the goal, and the quality of the shots was high.

A figure with sleeves rolled up to the shoulders repeatedly took the shooting stance and ran to the field’s edge to retrieve the ball until the shooting session ended.

[Skill: Heavy Cannon Strike Level 4]

[Skill Level: (1/2000)]

[Utility: With numerous practices, everything about shooting is deeply imprinted in your mind. This is a brand new phase, and your strike level is not inferior to any long shot master of any era!]

Leveled up!

Looking at the brand new Level 4 interface, Ma’el unconsciously smiled, his heart full of achievement and joy.

It felt like returning to his days with the Arsenal Youth Team, sitting on the playground, feeling the enhancement of various attributes of his body while looking toward the future.

This skill had been set aside for a long time, and he hadn’t spared time to practice in the interim.

But he never forgot that today’s achievements all initially relied on long shots.

One could say he definitely has an attachment to this ability.

”Not inferior to any long shot master of any era.”

This was the evaluation given by the Skill Level panel, representing that Ma’el’s long shot ability is infinitely close to shooting masters like Gerrard, Batistuta, and Carlos!

Standing up, he tried a couple of strikes; indeed, he felt a big difference from before.

Before shooting, he used to spend some time measuring, thinking about the force and shooting technique.

But now, he doesn’t!

Everything flows smoothly as if it were natural, and he can instinctively perform powerful strikes without thinking!

Moreover, the Level 4 skill corrected some of Ma’el’s previous bad habits... like the support foot sometimes deviating from the target at the moment of the shot or occasionally slipping on the turf when striking.

This undoubtedly greatly reduced his injury risk, adding an extra layer of insurance for him.

Besides, the potential improvement of force and aiming techniques goes without saying.

”Level 4 is already so powerful, I can’t help but look forward to Level 5.”

Ma’el sincerely sighed; he is increasingly looking forward to his future ceiling.

Collecting his thoughts, his mind began to operate again; Level 4 skills are basically sufficient now.

Now, he should consider whether to train new skills or upgrade the skills previously trained to Level 3 to Level 4.

The 2000 Skill Level is currently not suitable for wasting time grinding.

If he spends time on that, he could already have three Level 4 skills, significantly enhancing his comprehensive ability and securing his starting position in the Premier League.

Only when his comprehensive ability is generally sufficient, should he then upgrade the Level 4 skills to Level 5, reaching the highest human level and his personal ceiling.

”Crossing can be added to training; this ability greatly helps me and is very useful.”

Ma’el made his first decision; the majority of his 8 assists were achieved through crossing, and he knows well the utility of this capability.

He plans to grind it to Level 4, at which point, even if still behind Xiaobei, he would surpass most other top wingers.

”As speed gradually picks up, I can consider inward-cutting shooting skills.”

He had a new thought; graceful and stylish inward-cutting shot goals are the aspiration of every winger.

His violent strike, while possessing some inward-cutting shooting ability, always seemed a bit unsuitable, hard to perform well when sideways to the goal.

This is evident from his 5 goals, most of which hit the target frontally, with few successful inward shots.

”Dipping Shot!”

Ma’el knew what he should train in, the Curved Ball Dipping Shot, a shooting method very fitting for a winger.

Not only can it be used for inward-cutting shooting, but also for free kick attempts!

This, one could say, is the most needed ability for him at the moment.

Having made his decision, Ma’el immediately began training until the ’Dipping Shot’ panel appeared, then he stopped to pack up.

...

On October 22nd, while still practicing, Ma’el received a call inviting him to a café for a meeting.

Learning that the caller was a representative from the Mendes Agency, he agreed, halted training, and headed for a café downtown.

The agent issue is something every player must deal with.

Players can’t spend all their time learning various clauses, agreements, and football agency knowledge; they need someone to assist them in these aspects and form partnerships.

A good agent can solve most off-field issues for the player.

”I’m very glad you accepted the invitation, and I’m sure you’ve heard of the name Mendes.”

The person who approached him was a well-dressed middle-aged man in a black suit, who introduced himself as Pepeño, a Frenchman.

”Yes.”

Ma’el did not hide his feelings and replied earnestly, ”Mr. Mendes’s achievements in business are astonishing.”

He indeed thought so; the main requirement for finding an agent is evaluating their problem-solving and money-making abilities.

From this perspective, Mendes is almost the best choice.

As for whether their personalities would match, whether Mendes’s other clients and coaches are too high-profile, those future matters...

Ma’el wasn’t overly concerned; as long as the initial intention is to discuss partnerships, that’s fine.

”Mutual appreciation leads to the best collaboration.”

Pepeño’s eyes lit up, clinking his coffee cup with Ma’el’s, ”Mr. Mendes also admires you, and has sent me to make preliminary contact. If discussions go well, he’ll certainly visit Sheffield in person.

”Or, go to London.”

He demonstrated his understanding of Ma’el; anyone who knows Ma’el can see that he likely won’t stay in the Championship for long.

Next, Pepeño talked about a lot of things, from negotiations with clubs to commercial endorsements, from personal fan-base management to public relations, covering almost everything a player might encounter.

He also used Ronaldo and Mourinho as examples numerous times, essentially aiming to showcase the company’s value.

”If you choose Mr. Mendes as your agent, he will treat everyone equally regarding commission terms.”

Pepeño finally got to the main point, smiling, ”I do not know if you are aware, but in many of his contracts with Portuguese players, he receives a 2.75% salary cut from the players and a 15-20% cut from endorsement fees.

”As for the commission on transfer fees, that is mostly a matter between him and the club, unrelated to the player.”

Ma’el nodded slightly; this commission percentage is indeed relatively reasonable; he would not feel the pain and would find such a cooperation beneficial.

Regarding the latter part of Pepeño’s statement, he also had some understanding.

Someone once said that Mendes’s ultimate goal is to control teams through players, making more money between clubs.

A very clever business tactic, albeit one likely not favored by team managers.

”I need some time to consider.”

Ma’el ended the discussion with this sentence; he indeed needs to think it over.

Or, to put it another way, he plans to perform better to make Mendes’s side more eager, thereby acquiring more benefits.