From Arsenal to the Ball God

Chapter 216: Chapter 69: Signing a New Contract! A Massive Signing Bonus! Premier League Round 2 vs Liverpool!

August 18th, Mendes once again opened negotiations for Ma’el’s new contract, this time to quickly finalize it.

Ma’el, on the other hand, focused on grinding his Skill Level. His Reverse Foot skill was about to advance from Level 3 to Level 4, which would certainly be a significant enhancement to his strength.

During his Premier League debut, he scored a dipping shot with his left foot against Newcastle United.

I have to say, scoring with both feet feels great, and becoming a two-footed player has always had a strong appeal to him.

He thought of the famous two-footed player Dembele...although people often joked about his left and right feet, the balance between the two was indeed at an astonishing level.

So astonishing that even he was confused, not knowing which foot was his dominant one.

”There’s almost no secret to training the Reverse Foot, it’s just about a lot of repetitive practice, like when you first started playing football.”

Jose brought a camera to the training this time, recording all of Ma’el’s Reverse Foot shooting and passing postures, to review against his dominant foot’s posture in the evening.

”Look at this one, your arm swing is not enough, and your body posture isn’t fully open.

”This one is about your right foot, which hasn’t quite adapted to being the supporting foot, it hasn’t formed a fixed habit of supporting distance, not stable enough.

”Look at this video, when your left leg folds and swings out, there’s still some awkwardness. I suggest practicing leg swings daily, to let your body get used to this feeling.

”Alright, although there are quite a few problems, compared to before, you’ve already improved quite a bit. Keep it up, you’ll eventually raise your left foot to the level of your right foot.”

At last, Jose smiled and encouraged, ”Hope you can score more with your left foot, make your goal ratio more balanced.”

Ma’el nodded slightly, noted down these points, and swung his left leg to feel it as he went back to his room.

The next day’s training, he corrected the incorrect movements from the review and conducted special training on his weak points, rapidly increasing his Skill Level.

After completing that day’s extra training, when he went to the Korni Training Base, he was very close to a breakthrough with his left foot.

[Skill: Power Side Foot Level 3]

[Skill Level: (1892/2000)]

Looking at the other skills he’s been practicing, there has been some progress over this period.

[Skill: Ball Control Level 3]

[Skill Level: (923/2000)]

[Skill: Judging the Situation Level 3]

[Skill Level: (1472/2000)]

[Skill: Endurance Level 3]

[Skill Level: (684/2000)]

[Skill: Rhythm Level 3]

[Skill Level: (329/1500)]

”Before the end of the month match against Manchester United, Power Side Foot will definitely level up.” He took a deep breath, eagerly anticipating the upgrade. This feeling of gradually becoming versatile is quite nice.

In the first half of the season, his Ball Control and Additional Skills will break through to Level 4, then he will possess Ball Control Ability!

Considered a step towards becoming a hexagonal warrior, touching the edge of versatility.

After that, he could practice Fancy Techniques, graceful Aerial Strikes, outside foot tricks to enrich his arsenal!

......

Driving his Ferrari to the training base, Ma’el happened to see a group walking in, one person’s back seemed familiar. He rolled down the car window and turned his head to look.

That person just turned back, and they both looked at each other, eyes lighting up simultaneously.

”Arteta?” Ma’el smiled, isn’t this the future captain of Arsenal, and in ten years’ time, the manager of Arsenal?

Brother Tazi’s ability is indeed good, football IQ, understanding of the game, including footwork, all very strong.

Did he join the team?

Wenger has made quite a few moves this summer, it seems after selling Fabregas and Nasri, they had a bit more room in the budget.

”Ma’el.”

Arteta recognized him too, proactively walked over and extended his hand through the car window with a gentle smile, ”I watched you play during the Championship, the new season start is great, keep it up.”

He already has a bit of a coach’s vibe... Ma’el shook his hand, nodded with a smile, ”I will, are you reporting today?”

Up close, Arteta didn’t look much different from how he remembered him in the future. In terms of appearance, he seemed a bit aged.

However, like eternal youth, he maintained this face until 2024.

”Yes.”

Arteta pointed to the administration building inside and smiled, ”I had a medical check in the morning, officially joining the team this afternoon, not sure if I’ll participate in training today.”

”I’ll wait for you.” Ma’el didn’t chat too long, there will be plenty of time to interact in the future. After a quick farewell, he drove the car into the base’s parking lot.

On the way, he ran into a few youth academy kids asking for autographs, which he agreed to sign one by one.

Among them, a black kid’s appearance looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember who it was.

”It’s settled.”

Before training, Mendes called, his voice filled with excitement, ”Weekly pay will reach 105k pounds, the total contract period is 5 years, most importantly, the signing bonus reached 3.5 million pounds.”

”Great.”

Ma’el was also a bit excited inside. Compared to last time, his salary increased by another 10k, which should be infinitely close to the highest in Arsenal.

A 3.5 million pound signing bonus... is also quite staggering. Throughout his football career so far, the total money he’s earned hasn’t yet reached 3.5 million pounds.

And Mendes wouldn’t take a cut from the signing bonus, so it would basically all flow into his pocket.

Calculating briefly, just by writing his name on the new contract, the post-tax 2.1 million pounds would quickly be deposited into his bank account!

”Feeling much less pressure.” He showed a contented smile, now living in that house with a yearly rent of 650k pounds, he wouldn’t feel any concern.