Old Rice rushed over, gave Gu Ran a big hug, and kissed him on both cheeks.
This intimate gesture made Gu Ran, who was already somewhat socially helpless, even more socially helpless.
Gu Ran said quickly: "Hello, Mr. Rice, long time no see! Thank you and the gentlemen of the club for applying for a work permit for me. Looking at the entire English football world, I am afraid that only you and Southampton FC can do this."
Old Rice was almost flattered to the sky by Gu Ran's words, "Hahaha! Gu! We are all family, no need to thank me! Also, you look so handsome in this suit today!"
Gu Ran smiled awkwardly, "Oh, this suit is not mine, I just borrowed it temporarily."
Old Rice said with even more admiration: "Gu, you have a really good eye!"
Gu Ran said: "Actually, Rick helped me pick it up on the road..."
Old Rice took Gu Ran's hand and said, "Gu, if you keep talking like this, I really don't know how else to praise you. Come on, let me introduce you to the important people in our club--"
Old Rice pointed to a tall, somewhat overweight man and said, "This is our CEO, Mark Frye."
The CEO is the chief executive officer of the club, that is, the manager of the club. He is the decision maker of all major projects such as transfers and contract renewals. He is also responsible for managing the daily operations of the club, as well as communicating and coordinating with the team management, coaching staff and other departments to ensure the normal operation of the club.
Mark Fry can be regarded as a hero after Southampton Club was relegated due to penalty points. Mark Fry relied on his own abilities to piece together this mess that was almost on the verge of collapse and disbanding.
He is not well versed in football business, but professional managers do not need to be particularly proficient in football - Mark Fry is indeed a good hand in managing clubs, especially in dealing with club crises.
On the issue of labor certification, he also stood firmly on the side of Old Rice and supported Old Rice's work.
Mark Fry smiled and shook Gu Ran's hand. "Welcome, dear Gu. I know that several Premier League clubs have been eyeing you recently, but please believe that Southampton is your home. Everything that others can give you, Southampton will do its best to give you, and everything that others cannot give you, Southampton will continue to do its best to give you."
Damn, these words make people feel warm inside.
If I wasn’t a reborn person, I would really be moved.
Gu Ran shook Mark Fry's hand with a real feeling, "Thank you, manager, and thank you Southampton Football Club. I will also fight for the Saints with all my passion!"
——Come on, isn’t it just a business courtesy? Come on! I know how to do it!
Mark Frye praised: "Great, Gu! You are such a good player! With you, the strength of our Southampton club will definitely be taken to a new level! I am very much looking forward to your performance in the new season!"
Gu Ran quickly thanked him, "Thank you, Mr. Frye!"
Old Rice pointed to a man wearing glasses and speaking in a gentle manner and said, "This is our financial director, Nicholas Cortes."
The Chief Financial Officer is the senior executive responsible for the club's financial management, budget planning, financial reporting and finance-related matters.
If the team plays well, the budget planning and bonuses will naturally be high.
Of course, the CFO may also deposit the money in the bank to earn interest...
Nicola Cortes shook hands with Gu Ran and said, "Gu, welcome to become a member of the Saints. I hope you will have a wonderful and brilliant start to your career here."
Gu Ran responded politely: "Hello, Mr. Cortes, thank you for your blessing, I will definitely work hard."
Old Rice pointed to another old man with silver hair and said, "This is our sports director Mark Watt."
The sporting director is the one who truly holds power and is responsible for the transfer policy of a specific team, player recruitment, and working with the coaching staff to achieve the team's tactical and competitive goals.
Although the contract terms and the application for Gu Ran's labor certificate were handled by Old Rice, most of the background work was actually done by Mark Walker.
Old Rice's achievement was to use his own status and position to open up the key link.
Mark Walker smiled and patted Gu Ran on the shoulder. "Gu, I am very optimistic about you. I believe you will succeed."
Gu Ran quickly said: "Thank you, Mr. Walker, thank you very much for everything you have done for me."
Mark Walker was slightly stunned, then nodded at Gu Ran with a smile.
He originally thought that Gu Ran would probably just give him a perfunctory response, but he didn't expect that Gu Ran actually understood everything he did behind the scenes.
——Mark Walker already liked Gu Ran, and now he likes him even more.
Old Rice pointed to a middle-aged man who was relatively short and excited and said, "This is our marketing director, Woodhouse Ingram."
The Marketing Director is responsible for club branding, marketing strategy, commercial partnerships and various marketing activities.
Woodhouse Ingram said excitedly: "Gu, I am very happy that you can become a member of our Saints. You are also very famous now, especially since the scandal between you, Linda and Sister NO came out, the attention of our Southampton Club has skyrocketed. According to statistics, the search engine searches for the keywords of you, Linda and Sister NO are rising sharply, and the search volume of our Southampton Club has also increased. This season's investment activities are already full!"
Holy shit…
Don't read The Sun...
Gu Ran said with a smile: "Thank you, Mr. Ingram, but I must clarify that I don't know Ms. Linda and Ms. NO at all. Nothing happened between me and them, really."
Woodhouse Ingram waved his hand indifferently. "Of course I know that, but from another perspective, if someone creates a scandal about you, it means you are popular! What is a star? You are a star only if you are popular! Gu, even if you haven't played a single professional game yet, your popularity is already at the star level!"
Gu Ran couldn't help but secretly take a breath.
This marketing director really hit the nail on the head!
If you want to become famous, it is impossible to do so without some controversial topics.
Of course, from a long-term perspective, if you only rely on scandals and controversial topics but have no real substance, you will become outdated quickly and fail miserably.
Therefore, you have to be strong yourself, have convincing achievements and awards, and also have the appropriate amount of buzz, so that you can become a top star step by step.
"Thank you Mr. Ingram for your guidance. I will work hard to move towards becoming a real big star."
"Haha, Gu, I like you. I like you so much! Come on! When necessary, our marketing department will also help you hype up and ensure that you can always maintain your popularity!"
Holy shit…
We should not have this kind of popularity anymore, right?
If I really see Linda and Sister NO, how can I face them?
Old Rice pointed to another middle-aged man with a bald head and slicked face and said, "This is our business director, Philip Butz."
The commercial director is different from the marketing director. The marketing director's job focuses on marketing and enhancing the club's brand image, while the commercial director is responsible for more specific matters, such as negotiating sponsorship cooperation, ticket sales, commercial contracts, purchasing necessary supplies, arranging business receptions, and club shops and other related matters.
So, this is a very lucrative position.
Philip Butz grinned and said, "Gu, do you know that before the new season even starts, our season ticket pre-sales have increased by 8.2% compared to last year! This is all thanks to you! You have a great influence in Southampton! Many fans have called to ask when your new season's jerseys will go on sale!"
There is a commission for selling jerseys!
The more you sell, the more you get.
Gu Ran smiled and said, "Mr. Buzz, this depends on you."
Old Rice at the side said with a smile: "This requires our new coach Nigel Adkins to submit a declaration to determine the jersey numbers. I have urged him to determine the player numbers for the new season within today. As long as Adkins submits your number, we can place an order with Ambo's factory soon."
Philip Butz laughed: "I can't wait."
——The so-called UMBRO, also known as Umbro, has a classic trademark of a large diamond enclosed in a small diamond.
AMB is also the current equipment sponsor of Southampton Football Club. From jerseys, sneakers, socks, training suits, training vests, to obstacle cones, human wall signs, resistance bands, etc. used in training, all are sponsored by AMB.
Old Rice pointed to another middle-aged man with gray hair and said, "This is the executive director of the board of directors, Andre Kuwin."
The executive director is usually the chairman’s spokesperson in the club and represents the interests of the Liebherr Group.
Andre Kuwen smiled and shook Gu Ran's hand. "Gu, our chairman, Ms. Katharina Liebherr, has been very busy recently and cannot spare the time to attend your welcome ceremony. However, she specifically asked me to express her congratulations to you. She hopes that you will have a good time at Southampton. If you have any questions, you can come to me directly or through Rick. I will do my best to help you solve them."
Gu Ran also hurriedly said politely: "Thank you Mr. Kuwen, please thank Miss Katarina for me."
Old Rice himself is also one of the club's sports consultants.
Of course, old Rice has great power as a consultant. Even though he is not the general manager, sports director, or executive director, he can still make key decisions.
Gu Ran could also see that the senior executives in this office were secretly divided into two factions, one side was the old servants of Southampton Club, and the other side was the new servants of Liebherr Group.
The CEO, sports director, and most of the shareholders all belong to the old guard.
The executive director, financial director, business director, etc. belong to the new ministers faction.
And old Rice is the only one who can balance the forces of the new and the old.
Especially the matter of obtaining a work permit has further elevated Rice's status in the Southampton club.
At present, Southampton Club does not have a data analysis director, only data analysts and scouts, but obviously data analysts and scouts are not qualified to stand here to greet Gu Ran.
Even Gu Ran himself did not expect that today's high-level welcome ceremony would be so grand.
As a young player who comes from a grassroots background, has no professional training, and has never played a professional league game, such standards are indeed a bit beyond the norm.
Gu Ran couldn't help but secretly wonder in his heart: Old Rice might have other things to do.
After everyone was introduced, they took their seats.
Old Rice said with a smile on his face: "Gu, in addition to introducing you to the top management of our club today, there is actually another small matter."
really!
Gu Ran smiled slightly, "Mr. Rice, please speak."
Old Rice smiled and said, "We are all family, so I won't beat around the bush. After unanimous consultation, we, the senior executives, have decided to upgrade your contract."
What the hell?
Gu Ran couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
Logically speaking, the contract has already been confirmed and signed, and it only needs to pass the physical examination to be activated and take effect. There is no need to make any changes.
However, it’s okay to make any changes before it officially takes effect.
But why?
oh……
Gu Ran suddenly realized:
It must be the recent offers from Liverpool and Manchester City, coupled with Manchester United's disruption and Chelsea's coveted presence, that have made Southampton feel the invisible pressure.
Gu Ran smiled and said, "Mr. Rice, if you are worried about Premier League clubs offering to poach me, then you don't have to. I got my work permit thanks to your and other gentlemen's efforts. I will not betray my professional ethics. I have already decided to start my career at Southampton, and I will not change my original intention."
"That being said, we also believe in your loyalty, but..." Old Rice smiled dryly, "We are all professionals, so it is safer to implement it in the contract."
The sports director Mark Walker next to him interrupted at the right time: "Gu, just agree! If you don't agree to upgrade the contract, old Rice won't be able to sleep well at night!"
Old Rice smiled and said, "That's right, not only I can't sleep well, but all the senior executives present can't sleep well. Gu, we tried our best to help you apply for a work permit. We upgraded the contract, but to be frank, we just want to put your mind at ease. Can you understand?"
This is quite sincere.
Gu Ran then smiled and said, "Of course, Mr. Rice, go ahead and let me listen."
"Solid enough!" Old Rice nodded sincerely, and then took out a revised list:
"First, we will increase your weekly salary. The weekly salary we gave you before now seems obviously not enough, and you deserve a higher weekly salary. Specifically, we intend to increase your weekly salary from the original 2,600 pounds to 3,000 pounds."
What the hell?
So generous?
Although it is only 400 pounds more per week, it is already a weekly salary for the main players! Moreover, it is higher than the weekly salary of the other two promising stars Chamberlain and Luke Shaw!
Before Gu Ran could say anything, Old Rice said, "Also, we have discussed your playing time with Coach Adkins. He promised to give you more playing time, especially in the cup games. As long as you perform well enough, you may even have the opportunity to start and play the entire game."
Start! Play the whole game!
This condition is really too tempting! Old Rice, you are so good to me, you must want to win me over with more than just these benefits, right? ——Gu Ran continued to listen calmly.
Then old Rice continued, "Also, we plan to give you an additional signing fee of 100,000 pounds. As long as you pass the physical examination this morning, our financial director will immediately transfer the money to your account."
"Also, we will provide you with free legal support and tax clearance services, so you don't have to worry about legal and tax issues in the future."
"Also, we will be adding a dedicated personal assistant for you—namely Rick, who I'm sure you're already familiar with."
"Also, we will add a loyalty bonus for you. The base price of this loyalty bonus is 500,000 pounds, and it will increase every season. For example, this season it is 500,000 pounds, next season it will be 1 million pounds, the season after that it will be 2 million pounds, and the season after that it will be 4 million pounds. Of course, you have to stay with the team for at least 3 years and meet the minimum attendance rate target to activate this loyalty bonus clause."
Holy shit…
This contract upgrade is full of sincerity!
There are signing fees and loyalty bonuses?
Old Les, you must have some ulterior motive!
Gu Ran smiled calmly, "Mr. Rice, if my estimate is correct, we should increase the restrictions, right?"
"Hahaha!" Rice laughed. "Gu, that's not the case. Of course, we did make a small change - that is your minimum release clause. With the increase in your weekly salary and other benefits, the total value of your contract has also increased, so the minimum release clause of 5 million pounds is definitely not acceptable. After unanimous discussion among the senior management, we decided to upgrade your release clause to a new amount: 8 million pounds."
Oh shit!
I haven't even played a single game yet, and I'm already worth 8 million pounds?! Gu Ran couldn't help but secretly take a deep breath, feeling a little dizzy, and his head was buzzing.
Seeing that Gu Ran pursed his lips and didn't say anything for a long time, Old Rice felt very nervous.
Not only old Rice, but all the senior executives in the office held their breath, waiting anxiously.
This is the most critical moment. If Gu Ran is unwilling to increase the minimum buyout fee, the club will have no way to force him.
Because legally speaking, Gu Ran is still a free person! And he is a free person with a work permit!
Gu Ran could choose not to sign with Southampton and directly turn to other clubs.
Of course, this is unethical, but there are many unethical players in football...
After a while, Gu Ran said calmly: "Southampton Club has given me so many benefits. I can accept the 8 million termination fee."
All the senior executives in the office breathed a sigh of relief!
"but……"
With just one word, the top management breathed back the sigh of relief they had just let out!
Gu Ran smiled faintly, "I also have a condition."
Old Rice said cautiously: "Gu, just mention any conditions you have!"
Of course, he hoped that Gu Ran would put forward conditions, which was better than directly refusing to sign. But at the same time, he was also worried that Gu Ran would deliberately ask for an exorbitant price by taking advantage of the offers from Liverpool and Manchester City.
…
(End of this chapter)