Gu Ran shrugged, "I don't understand anything..."
At this time, you must not take the initiative to show your cards! Once you show your cards too early, it will be difficult to increase the bet later!
In fact, this kind of bickering and bargaining should be handled by the agent.
But given Gu Ran's current amateur status, he is not yet at the stage of hiring an agent, so he can only handle it himself.
Therefore, the closer we get to the stage of game-playing, the more we need to remain stable, so that we have a chance to play the pig and eat the tiger.
Old Rice smiled and said, "That's right, you are only 17 years old and have never been exposed to professional things. Then let me give you a brief introduction to the several types of contracts and salary structures of our Southampton club."
"As I said before, the financial situation of our Southampton club has improved. Although we are now a League One team, the salary structure we offer is still much higher than that of other League One clubs."
"Generally speaking, each player's contract is different, but it can be roughly divided into several levels based on the player's past performance, current strength level, and future development potential."
"The lowest level of contract is a part-time contract for the club's youth team."
"This type of contract is not binding for a certain number of years and is usually provided to youth teams under the age of 17. It can be terminated at any time. The contract usually states the club's priority in signing. This type of contract can also be called a semi-professional contract."
"In the UK, there is a minimum wage for players."
"This minimum standard is a standard that is determined by our FA committee after numerous hearings and is designed to protect the interests of the players."
"According to the FA's standards, part-time contracts are not paid much, but their weekly salary should not be less than £75."
Gu Ran couldn't help but nodded slightly: The contracts of Tyas and Ross Barkley at Everton should be of this kind, but their weekly salary must be more than this low, otherwise they would have been poached to other clubs' youth training camps long ago.
If the weekly salary is 75 pounds... converted into monthly salary, it would be 300 pounds per month. According to the current exchange rate, this is equivalent to a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan.
In the UK in 2010, a monthly salary of 3,000 was not high, but it was free.
Middle school students under the age of 18 can enjoy professional training and earn pocket money of 3,000 yuan a month...
This day is still very nourishing.
In contrast, many domestic football schools would like to charge you 20,000 yuan a month...
Of course, the requirements for semi-professional youth players in the UK are also extremely high, and it is not easy to get the minimum weekly salary of 75 pounds.
Old Rice added: "The part-time contract at our Southampton club is much higher than this minimum standard. Our current minimum weekly salary for part-time players is £165."
...Wow! According to the exchange rate, it is equivalent to a monthly salary of 6,600!
This is indeed a fair price! From this point of view, Southampton is indeed a good club. It is no wonder that Southampton has become a star-making factory in the UK. Southampton attaches great importance to youth training.
Even though the Southampton club almost disbanded in recent years, it still attaches great importance to youth training.
Gu Ran couldn't help but nodded secretly, and thought to himself: If I were to go to Southampton Club, I would definitely not sign this kind of part-time contract.
Old Rice continued to introduce: "Above the part-time contract is the youth player contract, which is usually provided to young players over the age of 18. This type of contract also depends on the situation. Some outstanding young players can get professional contracts, while some young people can only get semi-professional training contracts."
"According to the FA's regulations, the minimum weekly salary for youth players' contracts is about £100 and £150 - £100 for semi-professionals and £150 for full professionals."
"At Southampton, the minimum weekly wage for semi-professional youth contracts is £225, and the minimum weekly wage for fully professional youth contracts is £300."
Gu Ran thought secretly in his heart: This kind of youth contract should also be a semi-professional/professional contract arranged by the English Football Association to a professional club after reaching the semi-finals.
For example, in the current Bucks Steelers team, if no club offers a contract, the English Football Association will arrange the transfer. Most of the main players will be randomly assigned to small clubs in the English League Two, and the Football Association will subsidize these players to sign 1-2 year youth player contracts with small clubs with a minimum weekly salary. After 1-2 years, it will depend on whether the small club is willing to renew the contract.
This contract model is also the key to ensuring that small clubs can have fresh blood in lower leagues.
Old Rice continued: “Above the youth player contract is the young player contract.”
"The difference between the two is age. Youth players are around 18 years old, while young players are around 21 years old. Another obvious difference is that most youth players are reserve talents who have never played in a professional league, while young players have professional game records, post-match ratings, and are professional players who have the hope of entering the first team, or they are young players in the reserve team."
"According to the FA's regulations, the minimum weekly salary for young players is £300."
"At Southampton, the minimum weekly wage for young players is £650."
Holy shit…
Gu Ran couldn't help but secretly take a breath: the weekly salary of the reserve team is so high!
A weekly salary of 650 pounds, converted at the current exchange rate, is equivalent to a monthly salary of 26,000 in China! This was also the first time that Gu Ran had such an in-depth understanding of the weekly salary of a British professional club, and he was shocked.
...However, although I am young and meet the requirements of this contract, I would definitely not be satisfied with a contract of this level if they wanted me to join Southampton.
Old Rice continued, "Above the young players' contracts are the first-team rotation contracts, also known as substitute contracts. This type of contract is usually provided to players who are not yet strong enough but have the ability to fill the gaps in the first team."
"According to the FA's regulations, the minimum weekly salary for a first-team rotation contract is £500. At our Southampton club, the minimum weekly salary for a first-team substitute is £1,100."
Gu Ran exclaimed in his heart, this is awesome! Even the weekly salary of the substitute players is equivalent to the monthly salary of 44,000 in China! Although this salary structure is not as good as that of the Premier League teams, it is enough to kill the English First Division clubs in seconds, and even exceeds most of the English Championship clubs.
Moreover, this is the standard that has been lowered from the Premier League's salary structure after two major financial crises and when the team was on the verge of dissolution.
It is no wonder that Southampton almost did not survive the crisis in 2008. The club's commercial capabilities were extremely poor and it relied entirely on selling players to survive, but it still maintained a salary structure that was much higher than other clubs of the same level. It was indeed conscientious.
Southampton Football Club is indeed a typical Christian + working-class club, with all the sincerity of the working class.
In the UK, supporters of almost every club have distinct characteristics.
- For example, Fulham Football Club has typical farmer characteristics, Aston Villa Football Club has typical British royal aristocratic characteristics, and the most typical one is Arsenal Football Club. The Arsenal is the leader among working-class clubs.
Gu Ran's favorable impression towards Southampton Club deepened a little bit.
Gu Ran knew in his heart that given his amateur status as a youth training player and the fact that he had no previous professional match experience, the only contract he could get in a professional club would be a young player contract with a minimum weekly salary of 650 pounds. It would be beyond the standard for him to get a first-team substitute contract.
However, if Southampton Club only offers a substitute contract, Gu Ran still won't look down on it.
Signing a young player contract means that there is a high probability that he will be placed in the second team for training and become a substitute for the substitute.
And signing a first-team substitute contract means he is still just a substitute, and his appearance rate is not guaranteed by the written contract at all.
Gu Ran knew clearly what he wanted most.
It’s not about showing off, it’s not about weekly salary, it’s just about the appearance rate in the first team!
Old Rice continued: "Above the first-team rotation contracts are the rising star contracts and veteran contracts. These two contracts are basically at the same level. They are contracts provided to players who are lower than the regular strength of the first team but have great potential/merit."
"According to the FA's regulations, the minimum weekly salary for a star player and a veteran player is 800 pounds. At Southampton, we currently have two players on star contracts, 16-year-old defender Luke Shaw and 17-year-old left winger Chamberlain."
"Luke Shaw is still in the youth team and his weekly salary is £1,380, while Chamberlain is in the first team and his weekly salary is £2,720."
Old Rice said proudly: "Luke Shaw has no record of professional matches yet, Chamberlain has played for half a season and has performed well. These two little guys are currently the focus of our Southampton club's training."
Holy shit…
The future famous Luke Shaw and Chamberlain! In the memory of the previous life, Luke Shaw later became the main force of Manchester United and was the one defended by his teammate Maguire.
Chamberlain is the future king of memes. Whether he plays well or not is another matter, but he has countless memes on his head! These two guys will be the top stars of the Premier League in the next decade or so!
That’s right! They also “set sail” from Southampton!
They must have also tasted the big cake of Lao Laisi's "Driving to the Peak"? Gu Ran couldn't help but feel a little yearning -
Being able to grow up with Luke Shaw and Chamberlain when they were young must be a very exciting experience! If you can get a promising star contract, you must be the focus of Southampton Club's training, and your appearance rate must not be too bad! Chamberlain is only 17 years old, and he can get a weekly salary of 2,720 pounds, which is equivalent to a monthly salary of 108,000 in China!
This is already star-level treatment.
If I can get a contract of this level at Southampton, it will definitely be the best treatment.
After all, Luke Shaw and Chamberlain are both professional players trained from Southampton's youth training camp.
And I'm just a latecomer!
Gu Ran immediately determined his target contract in his mind.
Old Rice continued, "Above that is the first-team regular player contract. This type of contract is generally provided to players with rich practical experience and high scores after professional games."
"The FA does not have an absolute minimum standard for the first team, but the average weekly salary of the first team of most English League One clubs is about £1,200. At Southampton, the average weekly salary of the first team on a regular contract is about £2,400."
"For example, our midfielder Schneiderlin currently earns £2,450 a week."
"Then there is the first-team contract. Southampton has very strict requirements for the main players. In addition to passing the special physical test for the main players, the player must also have at least international honors, such as winning an intercontinental national team competition award, or having been in the team for more than one year and having outstanding performance, being an important player in the team, etc."
"At present, there are only a few players in Southampton who are identified as the main players: such as goalkeeper and captain Davis, such as central defender Walton, such as forward Lallana. They all grew up during the crisis in 2008 and are pillars of the Saints who have never abandoned them."
"Captain Davis currently earns £3,970 a week, centre-back Walton currently earns £3,550 a week and striker Lallana earns £3,480 a week."
"And above that, there are the core player contracts."
"As a core player of a club, he must have made great contributions to the club, and the entire club is commercially operated around the core player, the team's tactics are also designed around the player, and the player has won well-known awards in international competitions. Only such a player can be defined as a core player."
At this point, Old Rice shrugged his shoulders and said, "It's a pity that Southampton Club currently has no one who can be identified as a core player. However, perhaps in the future, someone will meet all the conditions and become the true core of the Saints."
As he spoke, Old Rice looked at Gu Ran with great eagerness.
...It's worthy of you, Old Rice, the master of empty promises.
Want to inspire me to fight hard for the core of the Saints? Well... that's a good little goal.
Gu Ran smiled secretly in his heart, and at the same time he sighed with admiration——
There is a world of difference between amateur teams and professional clubs in every aspect.
Not to mention anything else, the contract classification is so detailed that you can't get whatever you want.
Even if the top management of Southampton club likes and appreciates him as a treasure, it is impossible for them to directly offer a contract to the core players.
The word professional means that everything has standards.
——You can float up and down within this standard, but you must abide by this standard.
I don’t know what kind of contract Southampton will offer.
Substitute?
Most likely, the first-team substitutes are considered overqualified.
It can't be the rising star, right? That would be the best.
Just as Gu Ran was guessing wildly in his mind, he heard Old Rice continue:
"The grading of contracts is not just about weekly wages, but also about bonuses, minimum termination fees, commercial endorsements, image rights, appearance rates, training assistance, tactical design, life assistants, etc. There are obvious differences."
"Gu, what we at Southampton can offer you right now is a Star of Hope contract."
…
There is one more update today.
(End of this chapter)