From Arsenal to the Ball God

After settling the accounts, he began to discuss the special meeting for which the two were called today, ”The co-branded sneakers have been designed for quite some time, and the players have tried them several times. The new version should be fine, right?”

”We plan to release the sneakers on May 14th and start the promotional campaign in advance. We need your final confirmation on this.”

”I think it’s feasible.”

Ma’el nodded. He had received the fourth version of the sneakers after the championship match and felt that everything was quite satisfactory with no need for further adjustments.

”Great.” Alto let out a long sigh of relief. May 14th is the date when the Premier League ends. If Arsenal finishes undefeated, the team and players will likely experience peak popularity.

Releasing them on that date would absolutely be the best choice... But if the players aren’t satisfied yet and demand adjustments, there won’t be enough time.

”During this period, we might need you to take some time to sign the collectors’ editions. We plan to auction off the collector sneaker numbers 01-10 first, to establish the product’s reputation and increase its value.”

Alto and Ma’el made the final confirmations and also discussed the pricing, ”Each sneaker has a total of six colorways and three different models.

”Standard, sub-top, and top-tier... Of course, special and collector’s editions are all top-tier. I’m just referring to the basic models.

”The pricing is 75 pounds, 150 pounds, and 240 pounds respectively. The pricing for special editions will be based on the auction prices of the collectors’ editions.”

Ma’el nodded with interest, and couldn’t help but recall two years ago when he was troubled over a pair of sneakers costing over 200 pounds, momentarily losing himself in memories.

Back then, he probably couldn’t have imagined that making 2.4 million pounds today would be relatively easy for him, right?

Nor could he have imagined owning dozens of different co-branded sneaker models, right?

Time truly flies... He’s almost forgotten how he felt that day. His current life is fulfilling, with new feedback rushing in every day, leaving little time to remember the past.

However, by comparing himself with his past self, he more clearly senses the broad path he has walked in these two years.

Ma’el doesn’t know if two years from now, when he looks back at today, he’ll feel the same way.

...

After finishing the meeting with Alto, he went to the headquarters of ”Football Record” to meet with Peter.

”173,000 and 92,000.”

Peter smiled radiantly, sitting in front of the computer showing Ma’el the background data, ”This is the total number of subscriptions after the release of the championship documentary two days ago. We’ve already achieved our goal ahead of time, surpassing 150,000 users.

”Subscription revenue has surpassed 4 million pounds, which was an unimaginable achievement before.”

Looking at the growth curve, Ma’el asked with a smile, ”What about advertising? This part should be significant too, right?”

”Not yet,” Peter denied and explained, ”Because the number of viewers for the program is still far from that of the major TV stations, for now, the advertising prices can’t go up.

”However, we have received some substantial advertising offers, mostly from football games and gambling companies. Their requirement is to broadcast one episode for free and insert their ads within it.”

Ma’el nodded, understanding the advertisers’ intentions, ”I think this is doable. If the offer is acceptable, we can definitely add an extra episode in the middle of the month.

”It’s not just about placing ads; it’s also to increase popularity and attract free users to subscribe to the program.”

”Yes.” Peter agreed with Ma’el’s idea, though he looked slightly embarrassed, ”I had thought about this, but I never dared to bring it up because I was afraid you’d have to do another favor.”

”No problem.” Ma’el chuckled softly, ”While everyone’s excitement about the championship is at its peak, we need to work on this quickly.

”Keep me posted. If there’s a good opportunity, we can bring the whole team to shoot together and give them a share.”

”Alright.” Peter nodded, sensing that Ma’el might be heading home to prepare for tomorrow’s match, he quickly stood up and said, ”Ma’el, this season, the post-tax profit of our news agency might also be close to 4 million pounds.

”I... I’m really...” He was a bit tongue-tied, unsure how to express himself.

Ma’el smiled and patted his shoulder, waving as he walked towards the door, ”It’s just the beginning. I’ll make sure ’Football Record’ has a feast during the upcoming European Cup.

”Alright, I’m off. You guys keep it up and say hi to Amelia for me.”

”Sure.” Watching Ma’el leave gracefully, Peter felt a strong sense of satisfaction and joy surge within him.

Having the opportunity to work with someone like this in one’s life is something to be grateful for and proud of!

Sometimes, just like before, a strong sense of disconnection arises, making him feel as if he’s living in a dream.

Although he’s spent more and more time with Ma’el, Ma’el keeps getting better, and his influence and commercial value are skyrocketing.

Such a superstar surprisingly sits and chats with him from time to time and shares ownership in the same company with him.

In the past, this was something he dare not even imagine... Their kind of small news agency originally relied on vilifying popular football stars to gain views, cooperating together seemed to reverse the laws of nature.

”Tok tok tok...”

Before long, the sound of high heels clicking was heard, and a fragrant breeze came along, as Amelia joined them.

She was dressed in professional attire, appearing well-dressed, then hurried over, ”Where’s he?”

”He left after a while.”

”Ah...” Amelia sounded a little disappointed; it had been some time since she had a private chat with Ma’el, and she was starting to miss him.

”Amelia, do you feel like we’ve been living in a dream these past six months?” Peter couldn’t help but ask with a grin upon seeing her.

”Not at all.”

Amelia answered perfunctorily, then noticing Peter’s seriousness, she replied, ”The feelings have been intense, how could it feel like living in a dream?

”What you might mean is that life feels as wonderfully exciting as a dream, and I totally agree with that.”

...

PS: Starting today, I’ll resume two updates per day, beginning with two Chapters of 7k words to adapt, and gradually increasing from there.