The whole world thinks that footballers are a high-paid group, but they don't know that the real high salaries only belong to the players of the big clubs and those star players. The salary of a substitute for a small team like Mashki is not much more than that of the average office worker, and considering the short career of the player, if it weren't for his love, he wouldn't even give up the chance to go to university, just to get into Parma's 18-man squad.

Everything is because of love, and what hurts him the most is also because of love.

It turns out that love is not the whole of life, the house, car, living expenses, the family's insurance, little Sarah's piano lessons, and Sophia's milk powder, and many, many more places to use money.

The Italian has no habit of saving, he has not received a salary for more than half a year, and now he is living on credit cards and borrowing, and he can't believe what will happen if he doesn't get his salary and compensation again.

It's not like Mashki hasn't done nothing, he once thought about replacing Todd because the agent brought him too few resources and didn't play much of a role in contract negotiations.

But no agent at all is willing to take over Mashki, because his ability is actually average, strictly speaking, it is lower than the level of Serie A, if it weren't for the cheapness and appeasement of local fans, he would have been purged a long time ago, plus his 32-year-old age, no agent would be willing to spend more energy on him, training and digging a young player Isn't it fragrant!

Players always have to be agents, since no one is willing to take over them, then continue to use Todd, at least this guy never talks big, except that he has no resources in hand, nothing else has to say.

At this time, the only player can count on is the agent, so he looks at Todd with expectant eyes.

"Man, do you have any good suggestions?"

Todd's heart is finally here, whether he can convince Mashki, whether he can seize the last opportunity, success or failure is in one fell swoop.

If Mashki is a failed player, then Todd is definitely a failed agent. He was determined to become a top football agent just after graduating from college, so it took him a year to get a professional sports agent license and join Gestifute International, one of Europe's top sports agents, which translates to "International Gesture Sports Agency" in Chinese.

If anyone is new to this company, just talk about their star agent, Jorge. Mendez, as well as their star client Cristiano. Ronaldo, James. Rodriguez, Jose. Jose Mourinho, then everybody knows what this company stands for and what kind of influence it has in European football.

As in all parts of the world, resource inequity is always the norm, and Gestifute International's resources rarely take into account small agents like Todd and fringe players like Mashki. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the number of brokers in the company looked a little more good, agents like Todd who couldn't make much profit for the company could be kicked out at any time.

When Mendes could apply for a charter flight from Manchester to Madrid to discuss a small detail for Ronaldo's transfer, Todd could only apply for a train ticket from the company, and was ultimately denied.

That's life, bloody life.

Todd also had four clients at the same time, in addition to Mashki as a substitute in Serie A, one in Serie B, one in Ligue 2, and one as an amateur player playing in the regional league.

I don't know if it's Todd's natural customer, the one in Serie B who retired directly with two consecutive serious injuries, the kid in France B who was involved in the black list transaction and entered the bureau is estimated to have said goodbye to the stadium in this life, and the amateur player failed to play in the professional league, and signed up for a chef training class last winter, which restaurant is estimated to be in the back kitchen to cut potatoes!

So in fact, not only did Mashki have no income for half a year, but Todd was not the same.

Now Todd's only remaining client, Mashki, is about to lose his job, and if he also discourages and announces his retirement, then Todd's agent career will be completely ruined, and he dares to guarantee that no one will dare to sign his unlucky brokerage contract as long as the player asks a little, and he will also become a laughing stock among his peers.

So to keep Mashki is to keep yourself. From this point of view, Todd and Mashki are really two poor creatures who are a perfect match.

"Mashki, I'll give you an analysis first. If we don't do anything before the end of the season, and Parma declares bankruptcy and your contract is void, do you think the Serie A side will be willing to sign you? ”

This question is actually very rude, but at this time, if you still don't care about face and don't say it thoroughly, the two of them might as well just say goodbye.

Mashki didn't expect Todd to ask such a sharp question in front of his wife and children, but fortunately, with warmth in his wife's smile and nothing else, Mashki mustered up the courage to answer.

"As you know, I'm just a substitute for a weak team like Parma, not to mention Serie A, I don't think Serie B will want me, after all, I'm 32 years old."

Mature men just dare to face up to their weaknesses, and seeing that Mashki's answer was so sincere, Todd took advantage of the situation to ask.

"What about Serie C? What about Regart? What about Fa C? ”

"That shouldn't be a problem, they're not as strong as Serie B, and I'm definitely up to the task."

This time, Mashki quickly gave the answer, and he even thought of the scenes he had appeared in those minor leagues, but the thought of not wearing a Parma jersey made his heart ache.

"No, Mashki, I think you're mistaken, I mean you have the ability to play professionally, not to say you want to move to those leagues."

Mashki was told by Todd that he was confused, if he didn't go to those leagues, where else could he go? Todd saw the confusion of the Mashki couple.

"Mashki, you're disciplined, but you're 32 years old, you're at the end of your football career, and if you're still in Europe, it's very difficult for you to get a contract for more than two years, you should know that."

That's right, football in Europe is too confrontational, too unfriendly for the vast majority of veterans, and listening to Todd mean to leave Europe.

"Where do you want to refer me? South America, or the Pretty League of Nations? ”

South American players like to come to Europe to pan for gold, in fact, many older European players will also go to the South American league to retire, of course, the good ones will also go to beautiful countries, where the conditions are better and they earn more.

"No, you're a sapper-type player, and there are no battlefields for you in South America and beautiful countries. I recommend you to go to Asia, where football is relatively gentle and your body is up to it.

Also, the transfer window in Europe won't open until the end of the season, and you'll have at least half a year before you get your first quarterly salary, will your family's finances be able to sustain it?

Many leagues in Asia don't start at the same time as in Europe, they are now in the middle of the season, and the transfer window for many leagues has not yet closed. If you apply to Parma FC to terminate your contract now, they will most likely agree, and then you can sign for an Asian team as a free agent, and I can get you as much as possible in terms of salary and signing fee without a transfer fee.

In addition, some Asian countries are more economically powerful than South America, and although I don't want to admit it, they are actually stronger than Italy. This means that you will earn more in Asia for the same amount of effort, and you will be able to earn a few more years.

Last but not least, Serie A is still one of the best top leagues in the world, and your experience of playing in Serie A is very important, and when you retire, you may be able to get a managerial job at an Asian club, or at the worst you can use your network of Asian football to become a scout, and there are many clubs in Europe that will become your clients. ”

Todd stopped at this point, he needed to see how Mashki reacted. The latter and his wife glanced at each other, and both saw the intention in each other's eyes, and Todd was overjoyed, so he continued.

"In the past few days, I have found a market demand for players from two clubs in Gestifute International's resource pool, one of which is the middle of the Bahrain Premier League, and they want a central defender, a position that you don't play much, but it's not that you can't try."

Centre-back? Mashki disagreed, his position on the field is a midfielder, mainly responsible for destruction and marking, and the ball is barely qualified. It sounds like the role of a centre-back, but it's actually quite different. And Mashki's header ability is average, which is a disaster for the centre-backs.

In fact, Todd didn't know the details of the only client he had, and threw out Bahrain just to let Mashki accept the next suggestion and find an excuse to convince himself.

"There's another place you can refer to as well."

"Where?"

"Japan!"

"Japan, that's not bad, I heard that their league is the best in Asia, I don't know which team, I know too little about Japanese football."

Todd paused again, then spoke in embarrassment.

"No, I'm sorry Mashki, the Japanese team is not playing in a professional league yet. Don't be in a hurry to refuse, listen to me patiently, please.

This club is called Imabari FC, and the head coach is the former head coach of the Japanese national team, Takeshi Okada, who led the team to the World Cup twice and can be regarded as the top coach in Asia.

Imabari FC was bought by him at the beginning of this year, and his goal is clear: to make it all the way to the highest league. They are ambitious, and they have the strength to match their ambitions.

It is said that they won the first game of the league by a huge margin of 8-0, and the Japanese media generally analyzed that they have reached the level of a professional team, and it is only a matter of time before they reach the professional league.

They are now looking for a midfielder, but because the transfer has basically been completed in Japanese football, there are no players to choose from in the market, so they consulted with European agents, and it just so happened that Gestifute International has an office in Japan, so we can get the news as soon as possible.

However, I think the news will soon be known by other agencies, although the transfer window in Europe is now closed, but I am afraid that some lonely retired players want to make a comeback, and the amateur league happens to be a good choice. ”

Todd's last words didn't make Mashki feel competitive, which was a bit of a pity, but he didn't show the frustration he felt when he first heard about the amateur league, which is that there is still hope.

With that said, Todd's drive from Rome to Parma was over. The Mashki couple deliberately swiped their credit cards to buy a ham to entertain Todd, and they knew the information they wanted.

So there was no more conversation at the table, and everyone ate their plates, except that the wine of Bordeaux was not so good, and the ham of Parma was not fragrant.

Mr. and Mrs. Mashki sent Todd downstairs, and the three of them said goodbye again.

Todd will be staying in a hotel in Parma tonight, and if Mashki refuses to play in Japan, tonight may be Todd's last agent, as Bahrain already has a colleague from the company with the player.

Because of the drink, Todd walked to the hotel, and he never dared to look back to see if Todd and his wife were still looking at his back.

When he turned the corner and disappeared from view of the old apartment, his heart was empty, and the dream of becoming a famous football agent seemed to have left him.

Tears flowed from Todd's eyes, and he pulled out the handkerchief in his suit pocket to wipe his eyes, trying not to look so embarrassed.

A few idle young men in the alley glanced at each other, and they quickly surrounded each other.

"Hey, sir, you're so well-dressed that you're crying and snotty, is there anything you need our help with? Let me guess, is it your wife who ran away with her lover, or is your lover back in her husband's arms?

Hahahaha, it doesn't matter, no matter which one we can help you solve, you just need to spend a small amount of money to ask us professionals to help. ”

Todd could tell that the Italian spoken by the men was not pure, and that it was likely that they had come from immigrants. Thinking of what happened to me over the years, thinking of everything I have experienced today, and thinking of all the things that Mashki has struggled for half his life and been treated mercilessly. Todd's anger was running high, and the alcohol made him no longer able to control his body with his sanity.

A hard punch was thrown, and the outspoken thug was knocked down by a furious Todd. The others swarmed up and punched and kicked Todd after two seconds of confusion, but Todd seemed to get more and more excited, and he met the punches with his opponent, even if he took three punches in return.

"Qunimati Instant Coffee!"

"Quinny Martí Italy!"

"Gestifute International!"

"Qunie Matti Mendes!"

"Qunimati Football!"

“……”

Todd wept and cursed, and fought back as he was beaten, and soon the movement was attracting the patrolling police.

The thugs heard the police car siren and dispersed, Todd was knocked to the ground, he bent down with difficulty and kept vomiting, and the strength of his body seemed to be drained at this moment.

Todd was taken to a local hospital by the police, where he refused to give out the contact information of any relatives and friends, and only lay in the police car and wept.

The collapse of adults is often just an instant!