103 A Shock to the Football World!
The victory of Werder Bremen over Frankfurt at home caused a stir in the German football community.
"Lightning goal, Lin sets the fastest goal record in the Bundesliga!"
"Two matches, 8 goals, leading with 24 goals in the Bundesliga scoring chart, the young winger from Werder Bremen may break the Bundesliga single-season scoring record!"
"Three assists in a single match, De Bruyne's excellent performance raises Chelsea's consideration to recall him!"
"The dark horse pales in comparison; Werder Bremen is the real super dark horse!"
"The dazzling twin stars in the Bundesliga – the front duo of Werder Bremen is chilling!"
...
The discussion surrounding this match was high. Whether it was Lin's 9-second record for the fastest goal in the Bundesliga or his second hat-trick, scoring an impressive eight goals in two matches, attracted a large audience of casual fans to observe and discuss.
"I have a feeling that after this match, Lin's transfer value is going to skyrocket again!"
"The Bundesliga transfer market will publicize the latest player values this Wednesday; then we'll know how much Lin's value has soared!"
"Guessing, I think Lin's value is likely to exceed €50 million!"
"Too low! With his current performance, €80 million is more like it!"
"Haha, if it's really €80 million, I guess there will be plenty of bidders!"
"Real Madrid: You might as well ask for my ID card!"
"Teams owned by Middle Eastern tycoons like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain will also be interested in Lin, right?"
"Back when Manchester City offered two hundred million for Messi, Barcelona didn't sell. I wonder how much they'd prepare for Lin's transfer fee!"
"Wasn't Lin's buyout clause only €5 million? If I were Manchester City, I'd offer him this €200 million as an annual salary—let's see if Lin isn't tempted!"
"Damn, that's a really tough move! But if they offer such a high salary, I'm afraid Manchester City's wage structure is bound to explode!"
"Barcelona is probably in a dilemma now. If they sell Lin, they'll probably make a lot of money; maybe the transfer fee will exceed the world record of €94 million for Cristiano Ronaldo!"
"Haha, another record!"
"Lin, Lin, record-breaker. I mean, why does Lin love breaking records so much!?"
"Exactly, he broke the record for the youngest appearance in the Bundesliga last game, and now has broken the record for the youngest goal in the Bundesliga!"
"Breaking records quickly, breaking the record for the fastest goal in the Bundesliga, scoring more to break the records for the youngest hat-trick, a poker, or five goals in a match, getting called up to the national team, breaking the record for the youngest national team call-up, national team goals, breaking the record for the youngest national team goal…."
"He's truly a record destroyer!"
"Tell me he's just seventeen? A minor, only half a season with 24 goals, eight goals in two matches. This data is probably only achieved by Messi!"
"Shut up, you fanatics of Ronaldo, this season, Cristiano Ronaldo scored only 13 league goals and six in the Champions League, Lin's goals in the league alone surpass Ronaldo!"
The lurking Ronaldo fans in the forum couldn't bear it. Especially when Lin's fans compared him to their idols and even belittled Ronaldo, they immediately got upset:
"Tsk tsk, you Ronaldo zealots just can't stop boasting, Messi scored five goals in the Champions League this season, and also scored 23 goals in the league!"
"He either scores in the league or he doesn't, the need to brag is just embarrassing!"
"Exactly, Messi's annual goals have reached 86 this year, 25 more than your precious Ronaldo. How can you have the nerve to compare your boss with Messi as the connoisseur of absolute excellence?!"
The title "connoisseur of absolute excellence" seemed to have been coined by someone, and it had a pretty wide acceptance in public opinion.
But as partisans of both Messi and Ronaldo, they felt that the other wasn't worthy of being mentioned alongside their idols. They believed their own idol was stronger!
So, around the topic of who's stronger the sides argued continuously, and it had been going on for many years and was likely to continue in the future, until Messi or Ronaldo were crowned with the World Cup, they would constantly argue until one of them achieved the title and ended the controversy!
While fans loyal to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi argued incessantly on the forum, Lin's fans did not participate in the melee.
They started a new thread to continue the discussion:
"Lin's form is getting better and better; after De Bruyne returned from injury, it became easier for him to score!"
"Indeed, he scored three goals in just over sixty minutes in this match. With De Bruyne's precise passing in the second half, if given more time, he might even achieve another poker or even a five-goal feat."
"However, it's not necessary. He's still very young, and achieving so many honors too early may limit his ambition and hinder his potential growth in the future!"
There are many seasoned fans in the forum who have witnessed the rapid rise and sudden fall of players hailed as geniuses.
They both admire and doubt Lin's phenomenal current performance, a seemingly conflicting viewpoint shared by some.
After completing the match against Frankfurt, Lin received a call from Guardiola that same night.
Guardiola first congratulated him on his performance in the match, expressing pride in his achievement.
However, after the praise, Guardiola reminded him to protect himself and not get too carried away on the field. Being overly aggressive could make him a target for everyone and hinted that prematurely breaking a series of records might hinder his future growth.
Lin understood Guardiola's concerns, fearing that winning everything might diminish his hunger for the game.
Just like how when Haaland scored five goals in the Champions League, Guardiola immediately subbed him out, despite Haaland wanting to stay on to break the single-match goal record. Guardiola insisted on subbing him out.
During the post-match press conference, Guardiola stated, "If Haaland breaks Messi's record for the Champions League single-game goals at 22, he would lose a clear goal. He hopes Haaland maintains his passion for the game and uses breaking Messi's record as motivation to continue improving and enhancing his skills."
Guardiola's call to Lin was aligned with his decision to take off Haaland early.
Lin could understand Guardiola's intentions, but others might not.
If it were Haaland instead of Lin, being taken off so early despite being on the verge of making history could spark dissatisfaction.
If Haaland was denied the chance to break Messi's record in the future, Guardiola's decision to substitute him would surely become a lifelong regret for Haaland.
Just after ending the call with Guardiola, another call from Pep also came through.
"What's up, Uncle Peri, is there something you need?"
Peri and Lin didn't communicate frequently, especially not immediately after a match like this one. So Lin suspected it was something important, possibly related to the negotiation with Bayern.
As expected, Peri's first words were about the transfer negotiations with Bayern: "Bayern has relented; they are willing to offer you a signing fee of €25 million, and your base salary can increase by €500,000 to €6.5 million!"
Peri thought this contract was quite favorable. While the signing fee was €5 million less than Lin's target amount, the additional €500,000 annual salary was a significant offer!
Internal salary not only affects a player's income but also their status within the team. Higher salary doesn't always mean higher status, but lower salary certainly means lower status.
If Lin can receive €6.5 million after tax annually, he would be on par with Robben, just below Ribery and Schweinsteiger; thus becoming a core player with a significant role in the team.
Lin was somewhat satisfied with this contract, nodded, and said, "This contract is pretty good. How long is their proposed contract? I guess it's not three years; it can't be five years, right?"
If concessions were made on the signing fee and contract amount, there would surely be requests in other areas, like image rights and contract duration.
"Cough, they rejected your release clause limit and requested to extend the contract to five years!"
A five-year contract may seem too long, especially if Lin didn't have a system, unsure of his future development potential or the risk of career-ending injuries.
Faced with such a lucrative contract from a powerhouse like Bayern, Lin wouldn't hesitate to sign with them.
However, with the system on his side, Lin was confident in his future career. He knew he would only get stronger, and with enough points accumulated to exchange for immunity to injuries, he didn't have to worry about it.
Therefore, he would certainly not accept Bayern's contract!
Five years is too long; by the time he fulfills the contract, it would be 2018. By then, the initially high annual salary might not hold its value!
Take Kylian Mbappe, the player with the highest annual salary in football. In his 2022 renewal with PSG, his annual salary alone reached €72 million! Additionally, he had a €180 million signing fee and at least €70 million loyalty bonus annually!
Over the three-year contract, the total amounted to €630 million, averaging €210 million per year!
Lin doesn't think he's inferior to Mbappe, although at this point, he wouldn't get such a big contract.
However, Lin understands that the longer the contract is drawn out, the easier it is to secure a higher salary.
Therefore, he cannot accept Bayern's long-term deal, as the longer the contract, the greater the loss for him.
If Bayern could accept a yearly renewal, that would be ideal.
Unfortunately, for any top club, such a contract is unacceptable.
Only in the case of aging players at risk of declining would a yearly renewal be considered, striving to lock in their core players for ten or eight years instead.
With only yearly contracts, key players in the team are at risk of leaving at any time, making it challenging to build a strong team.
