So, this was it. The big reveal!
The contract was pretty basic.
In terms of pay, I would be paid 4000R$ per month. 1000R$ per game and 500R$ for team bonus. They also added in 500R$ per goal scored.
This is around 550£ per month. (Current conversion rate). And with the game and win bonuses, I could end up earning up to 2000£ per month. That is big money.
I wasn't going to contest any of that, since this is my first contract, and I am yet to play properly, I would agree to this.
All the other stuff are also pretty basic. As an academy player, I wouldn't have to worry too much about commercial elements of the deal. I want to keep my head down and I want to make a name for myself.
The changes I wanted to suggest were as follows.
1. A renegotiation of terms needs to happen after 2 years. I would still sign the 4 year contract, but after 2 years, based on my performances, my contract needs to be renegotiated.
2. I want to add in a release clause. If a club comes in with an offer of €7.5m or more, I should be allowed to have talks with them. Based on player agreement, I would be allowed to sign for a new club for a transfer fee of €7.5m or more.
3. I want permission to use the footage from the games for my personal use. If I were to make a documentary or a video about my playing days, I should be able to record and use the footage from the youth games or u17 games.
4. I cannot be sold to another club without explicitly informing me of the talks and only with my permission can I be allowed to be sold.
5. I want access to the club gym, trainers and nutritionists at all times. In order to keep myself fit ,healthy and to also grow, I want access to Club's expert resources.
These were the non negotiable things. I am not going to argue on trivial stuff like pay at this level. I will have time to earn big bags. For now, I want to secure my future.
I informed my father and Mr. Jacobs of my changes and asked them what they think should be added.
My dad was happy that I was thinking about the future. Mr. Jacobs waw surprised at my maturity and the release clause. Youth players are not known to put in those demands. But, my dad told him about my love for Milan and that I would leave if AC Milan came calling. I just wanted a way out and didn't want Sao Paulo to hold me hostage for more money.
I knew that an issue would likely happen because I was betting on myself to get better. If I were to win some international tournaments with Brazil like the Olympics and the 2002 world cup, and if I perform consistently well, who knows, Sao Paulo might not want to sell me or demand outrageous amounts of money.
I wanted to add in the clause now itself, when I am raw, and 7.5m is nothing to scoff at. I think Sao Paulo would agree to this.
Mr. Jacobs thought about some other commercial things like insurance and player ownership and all, which I left it to them to discuss. My concerns were informed and I would wait for their discussions to happen.
Once we were done after 15minutes of discussion, my dad went to get coach Joao, and the others.
They came in, and Mr. Jacobs did all the talking.
Coach Joao raised his eyebrows at the release clause and permission to use footage. But, nothing jumped at them.
Since we were not arguing about the pay, they knew that I was aiming for my future. They were okay with that. And 7.5m is not a small figure so they didn't raise much issue. They initially wanted to put in 10m, but after some discussion and convincing, we settled in at 8m.
In 1997, €8m would get you world class players. So, a release clause that big, for a teenager was fine with the club. If they could sell me for that money, that is all profit in their books.
They noted down all the changes.
We couldn't find a good agent in one week. The ones we spoke to, all of them came off as greedy. They didn't seem to understand the importance of building a relationship. They wanted to sign contracts with insane fees and all other clauses. oh! They tried to sweet talk themselves into a deal, but I saw through their lies and their silver tongue wouldn't work on me.
We have decided that an agent is not an urgent requirement at this moment, so my father decided to act as my agent/representative. I am okay with that.
I wanted to pay him for his services as well, and wanted to keep everything clean, so we agreed on a 5% commission on any deals he brings me.
It was just for laughs and we both knew that we would not have to worry about commercial deals and agent related stuff for a couple of years at least. Which should be enough to find a good agent.
Once that was done, coach Joao said that they would run this new contract by the superiors now, and that we should have a contract signing the next day. I was surprised that it would happen so quickly, but I realised that academy youth prospects, that too the ones who have not yet played properly, are not going to be too important. I was okay with that.
With that done, we said goodbye, we thanked Mr. Jacobs, he did a good job dotting the t's and crossing the i's.
Tomorrow was going to be an important day.
I asked my dad for an early present, and that was a camera. I wanted to cherish these moments. I wanted to have photographic evidence of these important things that were going to happen.
So, we went to a store, bought a Canon Powershot 350. I wanted to buy the latest model digital camera. We went for the Canon one. We had a film camera collecting dust at home. So, we could use both for special occasions, use the digital camera more regularly so that unwanted photos could just be deleted.
I told my father that I wanted to save money for the first few months, and buy a video camera. Since I had the permission to record my club games and use it for my own use, I was going to make the most of it. I wanted to have a proper camcorder so that my mom or dad could come to my games and record some of my early performances.
I am thinking about the future, and may be if a Netflix documentary were to ever happen, this footage would be gold.
In 1997, camera equipment was costly. So, for the first few games, we would borrow a camera for rent and shoot. I wanted to put my earnings for the first 5-6months to use and buy a camera by early 1998.
We went home after that, gave a debrief to my mom who wanted to know everything, got crushed to death by her, saying how proud she was and that I should forget about the money for now, and to focus on playing for Brazil. She doesn't care about my club career, all she cares about is that I represent Brazil and win some tournaments. My dad on the other hand was an AC Milan fan like me. He loved Baresi. And we both loved Van Basten. What a player!
Then we played around with the camera for a while.
Digão was excited about the camera and we clicked some photos around the house, played around with the settings and had a lot of fun.
We went to bed early that day, because tomorrow is the big day!
The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual, because I couldn't contain my excitement. I didn't know that it would mean so much to me.
Going to training everyday, talking to coaches, knowing all the areas I lacked in, things became real. There is a very big chance that things don't happen like they did in my past. I couldn't slack off and expect things to work out. I realised during this past month that I couldn't take things for granted. Everything is real now. And this is my life. Not someone else's biography.
I am the one shaping it up and writing it. Everyday, I see how my actions affect my performance on the pitch and how the micro interactions with people, be it the u17 guys, or the coaches matter. So, I was a bit overwhelmed by this occasion.
I went through my usual routine, and put on the trainers coach Joao gave me yesterday. He wanted the signing to happen in the club kit. I liked the idea of it as well.
And just like that, all of us were ready. We didn't speak much, we all knew that this was important. But, we also knew that if I played my cards right and worked hard, bigger things were on the horizon. This is just the first step.
So, on the morning of 30th May, 1997, me, along with my entourage of my family, and Mr. Jacobs went to the club to formally sign my first professional contract.
There wasn't much fan fare, the lawyers from yesterday were present, along with coach Joao, a representative from Sao Paulo football club overseeing the signing, a couple of other coaches and a photographer.
Mr. Jacobs had already verified the new contract, so he just gave it a quick look, gave us the okay, and finally, I put my pen to the paper. My father clicked a couple of photos along with the club photographer. We shook hands, and that was it. It was over in an instant.
My family quickly came over to me, hugging me and it was captured by the photographer as well. Mr. Jacobs took a few shots of the whole family, with me signing the contract.
It was anticlimactic in the end. But, it was all worth it. Then, I hear a notification sound from the system.
Mission completed successfully. User signed his first professional contract with a football club. 1 stat point awarded as a reward.
Would you like to use it now?
I clicked on yes, and immediately went ahead and put that stat point to Finishing.
Update successful. Finishing increased by 1.
I was then pulled aside by coach Joao and was informed that they would file the contract today itself and that on Sunday I would be playing with the u15 team in my first match.
This was everything I ever wanted. To play. And I felt like I was absolutely ready for this. I am going to burst through these kids and prove to everyone that I am no ordinary 15 year old. I am Kaká!
I told him that I was ready and that I would see him in the evening at practice.
We went to a restaurant for lunch to celebrate the event. After a gourmet meal, I went home and checked my stats.
**********G.O.A.T System**********
Stats Missions Training Cards
**********G.O.A.T System**********
Stats
Name: Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Kaka)
Age: 15
Height: 176cm
Weight: 70.4kg
Position: Attacking Midfielder/ Winger
Preferred Foot: Right
Weak Foot: ***
Skill Moves: ****
Work Rate: ****
Overall Rating: 78
Potential: 92
Pace: 85
#Acceleration: 86.5(+0.5)
#Sprint Speed: 84.5(+0.5)
Shooting: 73
#Positioning: 80.3(+0.3)
#Finishing: 71.2(+1.2)
#Shot Power: 72.8(+0.8)
#Long Shots: 74.4(+0.4)
#Volleys: 68
#Penalties: 78.5(+0.5)
Passing: 74
#Vision: 80.4(+0.4)
#Crossing: 68.5(+0.5)
#Free Kick Accuracy: 70.4(+0.4)
#Short Passing: 76.6(+0.6)
#Long Passing: 74.8(+0.8)
#Curve: 74.3(+0.3)
Dribbling: 82
#Agility: 86
#Balance: 82.2(+0.2)
#Reactions: 74.4(+0.4)
#Ball Control: 80.6(+0.6)
#Dribbling: 84.2(+0.2)
#Composure: 62.6(+0.6)
Defending: 37
#Interceptions: 32
#Heading: 54.5(+0.5)
#Defensive Awareness: 40.2(+0.2)
#Stand Tackle: 32
#Slide Tackle: 36
Physical: 53
#Jumping: 62.2(+0.2)
#Stamina: 65.6(+0.6)
#Strength: 50.8(+0.8)
#Aggression: 46
Traits:
#Speed Dribbles
#Playmaker
#Technical Dribbler
A 1.2 increase to finishing in a month. That's not too bad. I have been investing time daily in penalty kicks, and in increasing my shot power. I realised that the more I score penalties, the more I improve. I deduced that repetition matters. It is like the 10000 hour rule by Malcolm Gladwell. I need to invest a significant amount of time in upskilling these little things.
I want to dedicate time daily, hit 50 penalties each day, and 50 free kicks each day. With time, I could see if scoring free kicks against defense and goalkeeper matters. I want to be the best Free Kick taker as well. I may not be one now, and with Pirlo at Milan, I may not be one immediately, but with his help and with practice, I am confident that I would become one.
I went to train in the evening, I was congratulated in front of everyone by coach Joao, and was welcomed officially into the team. I wasn't going to start the first game. I knew it. But, I wasn't going to be disappointed. I want to give my best even in practice and show them what I have got. And the moment I get a chance, I am going to grab it by the horn.
We had tactical drills first, with the main focus being the runs of forwards and passing. I did really well in this. Everyone could tell that I was waiting for the floodgates to open. Because I dominated the midfield. My pace was a big problem for them. And on top of that, I could pass the ball exceptionally well for a 15 year old. The coaches were happy. Now that there is competition in the midfield, it made others perform well as well.
This is perfect!
We were playing a local u15 club, so we would not need to travel. And we were playing a home game. Once the practice was over, coach Joao pulled me aside and told me that I would come on as a sub in the next game. And he wanted me to be not disappointed at not starting the first game.
I assured him that it didn't matter, and that I would prove myself.
He smiled at that. He also asked me to confirm my jersey number. He said that the number 10 was already being used by someone else, the position I play in. I asked him for the number 22 instead.
How could I not? When I think of Kaká, his best moments, I could only picture him in the red and black and the big bold 22 in the back. That was iconic. I wanted to make that number mine. He said it was available and he would inform the kit guys.
I went home after that and drifted off to sleep after dinner because the training was tiring. I dreamt that night of a storm. The storm that was going to be unleashed on Sunday.