"Hey, buddy, want to swap jerseys?"
After the match, Mark actively swapped jerseys with a youthful Werner.
After all, in his previous life, watching Premier League matches, this "Golden Reconnaissance Plane" as he was called by fans, had provided him with many amusing and meme-worthy moments.
In this match, Werner came on as a substitute in the seventy-fifth minute of the second half.
After coming on, he used his excellent speed to create a lot of trouble for Wolfsburg's defense.
However, his shooting technique in front of goal was exactly like the reconnaissance plane Mark remembered.
There was one chance where he had an open goal push shot, and he completely missed it.
If that ball had gone in, Stuttgart would have equalized at home, and the outcome of the match would have been uncertain...
Facing Mark's suggestion, Werner was perhaps still replaying his missed shot in his mind and didn't speak, merely nodding his head in agreement.
After taking off their jerseys and swapping them, Mark was about to turn and leave when he heard Werner say in a deep voice:
"Next time, I won't lose to you!"
Hearing this, Mark simply smiled faintly, then uttered an arrogant remark that made Werner grit his teeth in frustration:
"Don't worry, you'll get used to losing..."
After teasing the young version of the reconnaissance plane, Mark was about to head towards the players' tunnel when he saw De Bruyne, who had been awarded Man of the Match, being interviewed by reporters on the sidelines.
At this moment, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, and a mischievous idea came to mind.
Immediately after, he directly intruded into the camera's view, put his arm around De Bruyne's shoulder, and teased:
"Buddy, need a translator? The very handsome kind?"
Having played in the Bundesliga for a year last season, De Bruyne's German was not bad.
Hearing this, De Bruyne also smiled and played along: "Does it cost money?"
"Others, yes, but for you..."
"One assist is enough!"
"Haha, that's a reasonable price."
At this moment, seeing the two of them with their arms around each other, a reporter nearby handed his microphone to Mark and then asked:
"Hey, Mark, do you have anything you'd like to say to the fans?"
Hearing this, Mark waved to the camera and then flashed a brilliant, charming smile:
"Guys, we're going to play in the Champions League!"
"Come on, VFL!"
After speaking, he playfully ruffled De Bruyne's hair and left with a hearty laugh.
He left behind a smiling De Bruyne to explain their "passionate" relationship. Soon after, in the away team's locker room, the joyous and excited singing of the Wolfsburg players rang out:
"We are third!"
"We are third!!!"
"The green and white VFL ~ ~ ~"
With the victory over Stuttgart, Wolfsburg secured third place in the Bundesliga with a record of 20 wins, 4 draws, and 9 losses, accumulating 64 points. They surpassed Schalke, who had 17 wins, 8 draws, and 8 losses for 59 points, and Leverkusen, with 18 wins, 4 draws, and 11 losses for 58 points, securing their Champions League group stage spot for next season one round early!
For Wolfsburg, who aspired to the Champions League, this result was absolutely exhilarating.
It's worth noting that in the Bundesliga, a League that can be called a two-horse race between Bayern and Dortmund, achieving third place is already a great accomplishment!
This meant that Wolfsburg became the team ranked just below Bayern and Dortmund!
And as a member of the team that achieved such results, Mark felt a great sense of accomplishment. As a die-hard fan, he knew that in another parallel universe without him, Wolfsburg only finished fifth this season and failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Now, due to his appearance, like a butterfly, the gentle breeze from the flapping of its tiny wings has actually caused such a large chain reaction!
This made Mark full of anticipation for next season's Bundesliga.
He really wanted to see if Wolfsburg, who could only manage second place without his help, could shake Bayern's dominant position!
Just as the Wolfsburg players were singing their team song in celebration, the club's sporting director Allofs and head coach Hecking also appeared together in the locker room.
"Guys, great job!"
"We secured our Champions League ticket one round early!"
"This is a great achievement!"
"You guys are simply amazing!"
Securing a Champions League ticket meant the club would make a lot of money next season!
Based on the Champions League prize money distribution from last season, every team participating in the group stage could receive a basic participation bonus of around eight million euros.
Each win in the group stage would earn one million euros, and a draw would also bring in five hundred thousand euros.
Adding in broadcasting revenue, Wolfsburg could earn at least tens of millions in the Champions League!
Of course, for Wolfsburg, backed by the Volkswagen Group, this prize money was far from being considered a "fortune."
But who would ever complain about having too much money?!
In addition to congratulating the team on finishing third in the League, Allofs also brought good news from the club owner, the Volkswagen Group:
Because the team made it into the top four of the League and secured a Champions League spot for next season, the Volkswagen Group's senior management decided to give an additional bonus to all first-team players.
One hundred thousand euros per person!
And this bonus would be deposited into everyone's accounts tomorrow!
This immediately made everyone in the locker room cheer with joy!
For professional players, football, besides being a passion, is a job to support their families.
Now, the boss was distributing extra bonus dividends because of their excellent performance. How could they not be happy?!
One hundred thousand euros was definitely a huge sum of money.
Especially for Mark, considering his annual salary was only one hundred and twenty thousand!
Of course, such a bottom-tier salary for the entire team would soon become history, because as the season drew to a close, the covetous eyes from other clubs had created a sense of crisis among the club's senior management.
Wolfsburg's sporting director Allofs had already hinted to Raiola several days ago that the club wanted to discuss Mark's contract renewal with him.
The reason for choosing to discuss the renewal at the end of the season, rather than waiting until after the season, was simple:
They feared losing Mark, a young and talented genius!
With his sudden emergence in the Bundesliga this season, many clubs had expressed interest in Mark.
Whether from the Bundesliga or the other four major Leagues, inquiries had been sent to the club. It's worth noting that Mark, in his limited playing time this season, had delivered a report card of nine goals and eight assists in seventeen appearances across all competitions!
With such statistics and efficiency from an eighteen-year-old, no one would doubt his potential.
If they waited until after the season to negotiate, they would face more competitors.
By negotiating Mark's contract renewal in advance, they could secure this potentially greatest youth academy talent in Wolfsburg's history!
Finally, the team reporter also suggested that such a memorable day certainly deserved a group photo.
And this group photo, taken in the away team locker room at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, was uploaded to Wolfsburg's official social media half an hour later, with the caption:
"Champions League, We Are Back!"