THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Sunlight was already streaming golden through the living room window in a well-mannered announcement of the just risen sun. Zachary smiled and glanced squarely at Emily, who was seated on an opposite couch, sipping on her cocktail juice. "So, which clubs have already shown interest in acquiring my services," he asked.

"Well," Emily replied, a mysterious smile framing her face. "Five teams have already since I put the word out that you were about to transfer out of Rosenborg."

"The most serious of those, so far, is Tottenham Hotspur, which by the way, has already sent scouts to view two of your matches. It's also the team that suggested the prospect of coming to an earlier agreement with you, even if you intend to transfer mid next year."

"Tottenham!" Zachary mumbled, his heart skipping a beat. He hadn't expected such a top league team to show interest right after he'd just hinted about wanting to transfer. Had the team been following his progress before he even made his intentions known? Zachary didn't know. However, he wasn't totally against the possibility of joining the London-based team when he transferred out of Rosenborg the following year.

Tottenham was a club that would be teeming with several world-class talents in the following few years. Phenomenal players like Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kyle Walker, and Son Heung-min would be with the London-based club for several seasons. So, Zachary figured he could fit in quite well and possibly have a marked impact with such a talent-packed squad.

Moreover, Mauricio Pochettino, a world-class tactician, was about to take the reins at the club. The Argentine coach was good at developing talent and rising to big occasions. His teams usually played a very aggressive high-pressing attacking style of football. Zachary was tempted to work with such a manager for the next few years of his career.

"To be honest," Emily continued after taking a sip on her juice. "Tottenham is my home team in London. So, I gave them a slight advantage by informing them first about an incredible client of mine that wants to transfer next year. Surprisingly, they reacted faster than I expected and even sent scouts to your matches. But if you're totally against joining Tottenham, then we can be patient until a few more clubs table down their offers."

"I'm not totally against joining Tottenham," Zachary said, looking up to hold his agent's gaze. "If they can offer me personal terms that I find hard to refuse, then I'll consider joining them after ending my tenure at Rosenborg."

"Oh!" Emily said, beaming. "And what are these personal terms that you'll find hard to refuse? Say they offer you £50,000 per week. That's £200,000 per month, which is more than twice what you're about to start earning from Rosenborg next month. Moreover, when you top that up with match bonuses, you might end up hitting even £80,000 per week, which would make you among the highest earners at the club. Is that an offer you can refuse?"

"The offer sounds a bit attractive," Zachary replied with a smile. "But even then, Tottenham will still have to come to a preliminary agreement with Rosenborg first about my transfer fee before we start any serious negotiations. If that fails, their only option would be resorting to triggering my buy-out clause. But all those are matters to be tended to next year. I don't see how they can even suggest I come to a preliminary agreement with them more than six months before I intend to transfer."

"You can leave all that to me, Zachary," Emily said in a poised tone. "My job as an agent is to understand your needs and then make them happen by negotiating with the parties that might be interested in your services. After that, I'll handle all the contractual issues with the parties involved and get you a good deal. As long as I know what you want, I'll try my best to get it for you."

"On the other hand, your roles include continuing to play incredible football on the pitch and making your intentions known to me," Emily continued while holding Zachary's gaze. "That's why I asked whether a weekly salary of 50,000 British Pounds from Tottenham would be an offer you would find hard to refuse. I need the answer so that I can strategize on how to approach the Tottenham scouts."

"Well," Zachary said, letting out a breath. "£50,000 per week is quite an attractive offer. But, it's not an offer that I would find hard to refuse since it'll be just about twice what I'll be getting from Rosenborg starting this coming December. Only if there is a two-year contract offer, with a weekly salary of at least £80,000, will I readily join a club at the level of Tottenham in the Premier League."

"But," Zachary continued without waiting for Emily to respond. "I know well that I might be setting my goals too high in the skies. So, that's why I suggest we wait for other clubs to table down their offers before making a decision."

"That's also a good strategy," Emily said, nodding. "However, if I manage to convince Tottenham to agree to pay you £80,000 plus bonuses when you join them next year. What then? Will you agree to come to a preliminary agreement with them?"

Zachary couldn't help but fall into a moment of contemplation after hearing the question. Joining Tottenham was not all that bad. They had a promising squad that would make it to the finals of the Champions League at one point in the future. However, Zachary couldn't help but wonder why a team brimming with talent couldn't win any major trophies during his previous life?

They had a good coach and a good squad with the class and quality. So what was stopping them from winning at the very least a single English FA Trophy in more than a decade? It was simply a puzzle that made Zachary not readily agree to join Tottenham, even if they made him a sky-high offer at that moment.

However, Zachary was a player who didn't want to become a coward and avoid all challenging situations, especially since he was living his second life. He didn't just want to join giants like Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Bayern, where he would enjoy straightforward success and be sure to win trophies as long as he was part of those squads. As far as he was concerned, that would bore him and drive him wishy-washy to the very core.

What he yearned for, instead, was a challenge — whereby he would have to toil for results by giving more than a hundred percent effort during each match. He wanted to feel the pressure constantly weighing upon his shoulders before each game. He yearned to feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins whenever he marched onto the pitch to face an opponent. Only then would he be able to enjoy football to its fullest and make the best of his career. And, he figured that Tottenham would be the right team to give him that challenge after a few moments of deliberation.

Various thoughts flashed through Zachary's mind as he tried to figure out an answer to Emily's question. He remained silent for a few minutes as he mused over the prospect of joining the London-based team - Tottenham. But in the end, he still chose to wait for a while before making any decisions.

"Well!?" Emily pressed after seeing Zachary lock eyes with her again. "What is your answer?"

Zachary smiled, shaking his head. "If Tottenham does trigger my release clause and then makes me an £80,000 a week salary on top of bonuses offer, I'll find myself hard-pressed to reject them. But before making any final decisions, I would like to wait and see which other teams might be interested in my signature. You never know whether there might be a more fitting team for me among those."

"If I'm getting you right," Emily said with a smile. "You'll most likely sign for Tottenham if they offer you good personal terms, which include a weekly wage of at least £80,000. But you still want me to drag out the negotiations with them so that you can have time to determine whether there are more fitting teams interested in your services. Is that right?"

"Yes, exactly," Zachary replied, nodding.

"Okay, then," Emily said, letting out a breath. "I'll do as you wish. Before I forget, four more clubs have been following your progress closely over the past few months. Their representatives have even contacted me a few times, trying to find out about your availability. But, when I informed them that you would only transfer out of Rosenborg next year, they relaxed their efforts."

"Which clubs?" Zachary asked, his eyes glittering with expectation.

"There is Ajax, the Dutch giants," Emily replied. "There's also Red Bull Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, both from Germany. And finally, there's also Red Bull Salzburg."

"Oh!" Zachary said, trying to recall details about those four teams. "We shouldn't consider Leipzig or Salzburg as both teams are in low-tier leagues at the moment. As for Ajax, I don't think that the Dutch League would fit my goals in the next few years. So, it's also out of the equation, and that leaves us with Borussia Dortmund, which might be a good prospect for me. But we should first consider a few more offers from the Premier League clubs before considering Dortmund."

"Okay," Emily said, beaming. "I can now see that you would prefer to play in the Premier League over the other leagues. So, I'll keep my ears close to the ground and try to find out which other clubs there, aside from Tottenham, might be a good fit for you and also in need of your services. Should I make any progress, then I'll notify you immediately."

"That would be best," Zachary said. "Thank you for your hard work."

"You're welcome."

"By the way, you'd previously mentioned that a few companies, including Nike, Pepsi, EA Sports, were interested in my signature! So, how far with the endorsement negotiations?"

"Well," Emily said, sighing. "Negotiations have stalled a bit over the past week. All the companies seem to be waiting to see how you'll perform in your last two Europa League group matches before tabling their final offers. Should you put up an incredible performance and then help Rosenborg qualify for the round of thirty-two, then we'll have ourselves plenty of offers. But if you perform poorly in those two matches, we might not get any more offers until next year. It should be as simple as that."

"That's understandable," Zachary replied, nodding. "Those international brands probably require stars that have some fame across multiple countries. Otherwise, it would be a loss if they took on a player who's mainly known in a single country, like me."

"I'm glad you understand," Emily said with a smile. "What is most important for you is to focus on performing at your best during the upcoming matches. Everything else, be it endorsements or transfer offers, will fall into line as long as you perform well. That's a simple truth."

"Don't worry," Zachary replied, tone poised. "I'll give more than a hundred percent because I yearn for my team to qualify for the next stage of the Europa League. I only hope my teammates are as motivated as I am."

"I'm glad that you're very motivated," Emily said, smiling and standing up abruptly. "But please don't allow any other factors to affect your career. For the moment, try to put your career above everything else, whether a girlfriend or partying or any other enjoyment in life. There's simply no need to hurry since you'll have all the time to enjoy later on in your career or even after when you retire. Get to the top first, and everything else will fall in line. Okay?"

"Don't worry," Zachary replied. "I've always put my career before everything else in my life."

"Then, I'm glad," Emily said, beaming. "It's getting late, so I have to rush to my next meeting, which by the way, is with the two Tottenham scouts. I'll update you about the outcomes afterward."

"Okay, then." Zachary nodded. "I'll be waiting."

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