19 An Agreement

Jason didn't immediately answer Rafael's statement that was meant to take his head out of the clouds because it was information he already knew and something he had experienced, but that did not cause a ripple in his mindset at all.

He already knew that he would have to work very hard if he was going to be aiming for his dream.

He had known that since he had realized that he didn't have anything like a cheat or a system like the main characters in those books that told stories similar to his situation.

He had only been given another chance at his goal and if he wasn't going to work extra hard then his second chance was as good as nothing.

"... I know, I know I'll have to work extra hard in training and learn… and when the coach finally gives me a chance, I must do my best to impress," he finally answered after a long pause.

"Good mindset!" 

"I hope to see you wearing the FC Porto colors and playing for the senior team soon," Rafael answered, seemingly impressed and forgetting that Jason hadn't even signed for the team yet.

Rafael then went on to explain further the details of the scouting offer and both sides discussed until they came to a final conclusion.

The basic outline of their agreement was that Jason would sign a youth contract and begin playing with the FC Porto Juniors, the U-19 FC Porto squad.

This contract would entail that they would take care of all his basic needs which included boarding, feeding, and training.

He'd also sign a pre-contract agreement with the FC Porto side that he wouldn't join another team for at least a year after he joined the Porto Youth team should they try poaching him before he signed for the senior team on a professional contract.

Jason wasn't really happy with this part of the agreement because it made sure that he was tied to the FC Porto side, but he let it go when he heard that the pre-contract agreement had an additional clause that would ensure that he would be promoted to the senior team unconditionally if he could score 15 goals or give fifteen assists in any match for the youth team before the end of the 2019/20 football season.

This was quite an annoying clause as while it had the potential to get him added to the FC Porto senior team, it could also be quite difficult to achieve if things didn't work out well, but Jason still welcomed the chance.

He wasn't one to kick a gift horse in the mouth anyway and he would take any chance that he got.

Finally, both sides would sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement in which they couldn't disclose the details of the pre-contract agreement.

After almost an hour of talking, this was what was agreed upon and a verbal agreement was made while the contract would be drawn up and signed at a later date.

For now, it was already agreed that Jason would be flying to Porto, Portugal before signing any contract so he could take part in some trial matches after which the contract would be signed and if his performance warranted some changes in their agreement, that could also be worked on.

After the serious talk was over, both sides ordered something to drink as well as a few snacks while they spoke about a few other details like where Jason would live while in the youth team as well as a few other matters.

Upon finishing their meals, they stood up to leave and walked out of the coffee bar together, heading in the same direction until Jason and Daphne stopped beside Jason's car.

Seeing the sleek body of Jason's BMW, Rafael whistled, "Nice car," he praised the machine.

"I know right, I bought her myself," Jason answered back proudly.

"... Wait what? How did you do that?" Rafael asked curiously, inwardly wondering how Jason was able to afford a car worth over a hundred thousand dollars.

"Trade secret," Jason said with a smirk as he opened the door for Daphne first, leaving Rafael staring at Daphne with hopes that she could satisfy his curiosity, but Daphne just shrugged and got into the car and Jason closed the door behind him.

"That reminds me, I'll be bringing her along with me to Portugal… I hope that won't be a problem, of course, I'll pay the shipping fees myself," Jason informed Rafael of his decision to bring his car along.

"It shouldn't be a problem, but you do know that you'll have to arrange for an international driver's permit, right?" Rafael replied.

"I know, but I can get that done easily with your help, right?" Jason responded while opening the door to the driver's seat and getting in before starting the car and driving off.

"Right…" Rafael murmured while wondering to himself that Jason sounded and acted a lot more mature than he looked. 

Just the fact that he didn't show any signs of nervousness, or that he spoke with so much ease that it was as if they were of the same generation said a lot, little did he know that they were of the same generation… at least mentally.

But he didn't know, so he could only watch the car leave before turning away with plans to call Head Scout Andre about the proceedings and have a lawyer draft up the contracts and agreements that needed to be signed while also making arrangements for Jason's arrival at Porto.

He wanted to quickly get the deal done over with as he had noticed Jason's phone lighting up with various notifications during their meeting.

It didn't take much to know that Jason was already receiving various love calls from the other scouts at the trials.

Even though he doubted that any teams would interest Jason any more than Porto, one could never be too sure in cases like this as after all, nothing had been signed yet and if there was anything he had learned over the years was that, in his line of work, verbal agreements didn't mean much in the face of higher benefits, so it was always better to snatch up the prize fastest.

He quickly rushed off as he thought about this, completely forgetting about the fact that Jason wasn't the only player present at football trials, but even if he remembered, he'd have just shrugged it off while thinking to himself that they were just "opportunity cost" as he was still very biased towards football players on the North American continent.