From Arsenal to the Ball God

”Oh...Oh...Ohhh...!!”

The two who took the field got some opportunities and often showed off their footwork, driving wave after wave of cheers from the fans through fancy dribbling and passing.

However, perhaps caught up in play, neither managed to score.

Only Ma’el, in the stoppage time of the match, made a close-range shot that hit the goalpost, assisting Big Giroud to score another goal on the rebound.

Six to zero!

”Beep! Beep! Beep——!”

Entering the third minute of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the match, and the Arsenal Team secured their second consecutive victory in the friendly matches.

With 6 points from 2 matches and scoring 10 goals, they clinched the Emirates Cup title one round early!

”Ohhhhh.....!”

”Yeahhh.....!”

Soon, amid the cheers of the fans, Ma’el raised the first trophy since becoming Arsenal captain, while the gold-medaled Arsenal players jumped and danced on the podium.

This was just a friendly match trophy, yet it held great significance; perhaps from this day, led by the new captain, the new team was ready to set sail!

”Congratulations!”

”Champions!”

The Arsenal players laughed and chatted, then promptly passed around the trophy, each smiling for a commemorative photo in front of the cameras.

”We have to get used to winning!”

”Haha.....!”

After the match, Ma’el looked towards Wenger on the side of the field, winking his right eye as if to tell him that the journey to the championship in the new season had begun.

Wenger smiled and clapped, then turned to the fan section to thank the over 40,000 Arsenal fans who witnessed this moment.

Later, Ma’el was invited to a box, where he met a few high-ranking officials from Emirates Airline, dressed in traditional Arabic attire with black bands tied around their heads. Some might also hold significant positions in the Government of the United Arab Emirates.

”Clap, clap, clap.....” They immediately welcomed him with a round of applause, and one of them stood up to invite him to take a seat.

After nodding to a few of them, he sat down, his expression slightly neutral, unsure of the specific reason they wanted to meet him.

”Emirates Airline has invested in Arsenal, named Emirates Stadium, and hosts the Emirates Cup,”

the person in the main seat smiled kindly, greeting him in a straightforward manner, ”Naturally, we also want to sign the best player of this club as our spokesperson.

”There’s nothing else in inviting you here, just wanted to meet our spokesperson in advance.

”Honestly, you look more likable in person than in the photos. We are ready to agree to Mendes’ proposal for a raise, increasing your endorsement fee to 4.65 million pounds per year.”

Ma’el’s calm expression gradually turned to joy, realizing that Mendes was likely leveraging the increased signing for Dior Perfume to push other companies for a raise... and Emirates Airline agreed.

He reached out with a friendly right hand, his demeanor changing as he courteously said, ”Thank you for your generosity, we’ve long wanted to partner with a big company like Emirates Airline.”

”Haha.....”

The Emirates representative was certainly no fool, perceiving Ma’el’s politeness, yet they always enjoyed the thrill of changing others’ attitudes through lavish spending, always indulging in it.

He waved a hand backward, and someone brought up several exquisite gift boxes.

Ma’el watched curiously as the person gradually unboxed them, revealing four watches inside that were clearly worth a fortune.

”These are 2 Rolex watches and 2 Patek Philippe watches, with a total value of approximately 860,000 Euros.”

Like holding a handful of model watches, the Emirates representative carried the four watches with a total value of 860,000 Euros right next to Ma’el, ”Just a meeting gift for you, hope you don’t mind.”

Ma’el was stunned, thoroughly shocked by the other party’s ’extravagance’, not even having the chance to decline before they picked up his left arm and put one of the watches on him.

With that watch on his wrist, his face gradually shifted to a genuinely joyous smile, with not a trace of politeness left, his gaze towards the other party becoming clearer.

One reason was that this windfall felt fantastic, and another was witnessing these oil tycoons’ love for splurging money for the first time; naturally, it felt novel.

”Looks great.”

The Emirates representative, looking at the watch on Ma’el’s wrist, gave a thumbs up, ”This watch was meant to be yours, it looked ugly on us.”

”Haha.....” Ma’el laughed heartily twice, looking at the Rolex on his wrist, thinking it’s indeed quite good... things that come for free always look great.

”Our endorsement contract will include bonus clauses, but I assure you, besides this, we’ll also personally reward you with bonuses.”

The Emirates representative turned to other Emiratis, asking, ”Right? We talked about this, as long as Ma’el wins important championships, we’ll privately buy him some houses and cars.”

”Right!”*10+

Seeing a circle of white hats with determined gazes, Ma’el pursed his lips and nodded, indicating he would go all out for the championship... signing this endorsement was truly worthwhile.

He didn’t linger there for long, soon heading to the interview area to accept interviews from the media.

A reporter, noticing the constant smile on his face, asked, ”Winning the Emirates Cup makes you happy? We thought someone who won the European Cup wouldn’t care about such a small championship.”

”Quite happy,” Ma’el replied with a smile, ”I care a lot about achieving something with my Arsenal teammates. Of course, part of the happiness is because I’ve met a group of interesting people.”