From Arsenal to the Ball God

He looked at Alto, a hint of excitement in his eyes, ”Do I have a chance to collaborate with Puma on a co-branded sneaker?”

On one hand, this would fulfill the dream of the youthful boy at the Korni Base whose sneakers once came apart, allowing ’him’ to have shoes that truly belong to him.

He could also donate 10 out of every 100 pairs sold to charity, passing on the warmth that Hans once gave him to kids who love playing football but can’t afford shoes.

On the other hand, sneakers are to players what weapons are to soldiers.

A pair of shoes designed entirely according to your foot shape and match characteristics, in your personal aesthetic style... it’s naturally very comfortable to wear.

Not to mention improving the accuracy of various shooting and passing, improving comfort and condition is for sure.

”There is a chance.”

Alto’s face showed a bit of embarrassment as he explained with a dry laugh, ”However, due to the costs of design and developing new production lines, and the costs of marketing new categories, most brands won’t easily make this decision.”

He implicitly expressed that Ma’el hasn’t reached that level yet.

There’s really nothing that can be done; they appreciate Ma’el’s talent and believe in his future.

But they definitely don’t want to invest more money now and take on more risk to give the player such a favor.

The audience for co-branded sneakers isn’t just ordinary fans who like the star, but also the fans who play football as well.

After two rounds of selection, there won’t be many people left... perhaps more would have to rely on ’non-superstar fans’ who play football to make the purchase.

These people, when purchasing, first look at comfort and fit, and second, at the star’s data performance.

Only when they see the star wearing these shoes and putting up impressive stats will they be driven to buy, hoping to perform better in casual games or youth teams.

”It’s okay.”

Ma’el, enthusiastic about co-branded sneakers, showed no awkwardness and cheerfully said: ”It’s good to have a chance, hopefully, I can have my own co-branded sneakers in the future.”

After picking some small items, Ma’el tried the sneakers on a small artificial turf in the store and finally packed up four pairs to take home, intending to try them out again when training tomorrow.

Finally, the three of them went to the general manager’s office to officially sign the contract.

”We’ll only be able to shoot promotional photos when I have free time; the match schedule is quite heavy recently.”

Ma’el stood up, shook hands with Alto and smiled: ”But tomorrow everyone will see Ma’el wearing Puma on the field, you can contact the media and start some teaser campaigns.”

”Haha...” Alto leaned back and laughed, saying: ”Sure, you’ll also receive your first-year endorsement fee tomorrow.”

”I look forward to you getting a bonus in your first season; I’ll be more than happy to transfer the money from the company account to you; that money symbolizes our win-win.”

This is true, setting bonuses is meant to motivate players to vie for these prestigious honors.

Moreover, as long as players achieve these honors, the increase in influence will definitely extend to the sponsor Puma, allowing them to gain greater benefits by then.

They are not worried about the players earning more bonuses; they actually hope the players earn more.

”And mine too.” Mendes, in a great mood, grinned and hugged both of them.

After finishing these things, Ma’el and Mendes left the building, said goodbye, and went to their respective destinations.

While driving home, Ma’el thought about many things; whether it was income-wise or for clear goals and self-motivation, this endorsement was very worthwhile to sign.

Now, he knows better what he should do and which direction to develop in.

Stack bonuses?

Tiered bonuses?

Within 5 years, he aims to break the 20 million mark for his base endorsement fee!

He also aims to excel soon and let Puma develop a uniquely co-branded sneaker just for him!

...

On September 14, the 5th round of the Premier League arrived, with Arsenal visiting Blackburn Rovers.

This was a mid-to-lower-level team in last season’s Premier League but had a knack for ”robbing the rich to help the poor,” often pulling off classics of the weak defeating the strong, yet easily losing to relegation teams.

In this match, they once again burst forth with the excitement of facing strong teams, fiercely contested every ball, conceded nothing, and made few mistakes.

In the 10th minute, Alexander Song’s long pass found Gervinho cutting into the ribs of the penalty area, replacing the rested Walcott today.

”Boom!!”

Gervinho, stopping the ball in the penalty area, shot a goal nearly identical to Walcott’s sharp angle shot from the last match.

One to zero!

But Arsenal’s joy didn’t last long; 15 minutes later, Blackburn forward Yakubu received Hoylitt’s through ball, broke into Arsenal’s penalty area, and shot far into the corner to score.

One to one!

”Boom!!”

Nine minutes later, Arteta received Ma’el’s cross in the central area, and with a long shot, retaliated by helping Arsenal take the lead again.

This was also his first Premier League goal representing Arsenal!

”Vamos.....!” The pure Spanish announced a pure Spanish celebration, with Arteta passionately throwing a dragon fist into the air, jumping onto Ma’el upon his arrival.

”Seems like this is the easiest assist of my career.” Ma’el complimented sincerely, ”Now I know how it feels for someone who assisted my long shot last season.”

Arteta waved his fists a few times before landing back on the ground, smiling: ”I hope I can have such easy assists in the future too.”