It turned out that Marco Reus had recovered well. In the 27th round of the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund temporarily drew 1-1 with Cologne. In another match, Wolfsburg defeated Mönchengladbach 2-1, earning 3 points, and had already surpassed Borussia Dortmund in the real-time standings. Seeing their title rival about to overtake them, with Jin Hayes absent, someone needed to step up.
This person was not the 18-year-old İlkay Gündoğan in midfield; the only one they could rely on was Marco Reus. After being away from the field for half a year, he truly hadn't found his form in the first 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute. He always hesitated to accelerate with the ball, immediately passing it back to a teammate whenever he encountered a slight obstacle.
As time ticked by, with the team on the verge of a draw, Reus could no longer hold back. In the 88th minute, Reus dribbled down the left wing, using changes in rhythm to suddenly stop, then suddenly accelerate and change direction to break free. He burst into the penalty area and scored with a low shot from a tight angle, securing a last-minute victory.
Jin Hayes was overjoyed and quickly pulled out a pre-prepared support board from below, raising it high. The celebrating Reus happened to run to the stands below. He looked up and saw Jin Hayes smiling, holding a sign: "Welcome back, Marco!"
"Danke! Thank you, truly thank you…"
Reus was a little choked up, forcefully suppressing his emotions, and applauded the stands in acknowledgment.
Now, with right-back Patrick Owomoyela returning and Neven Subotić due back in a week, Borussia Dortmund was about to get back on track. All the stars are back.
...
On the flight to England, the Borussia Dortmund players were incredibly excited and boisterous in the cabin. Jürgen Klopp had intended to close his eyes and rest for a while, but the noise made it impossible to sleep.
"Why does it feel like a primary school classroom? It's too noisy."
He suddenly felt like a teacher.
"They are just a bunch of kids, especially professional players; their psychological age is even younger," assistant coach Željko Buvač, however, could understand. Klopp was usually busy studying tactics and attending meetings with management. Buvač was the one who interacted most with the team, so he remembered every little detail about each player.
Mats Hummels, who looked handsome and rugged, had a straightforward personality like a big brute in the locker room. In reality, during training breaks, he enjoyed reading romance novels for teenagers, completely engrossed. Just a few days ago, Buvač even found him reading a popular series, his nose red and eyes wet, which truly astonished him.
Another example is Mario Götze; on the field, he possessed a calmness and intelligence that belied his age, preferring to outsmart defenders with his football IQ. Off the field, his logic in speaking and acting was sharp; at just 16, he already had profound thoughts, almost earning him the title of one of Borussia Dortmund's two exceptional talents, alongside Jin Hayes.
However, some details in his daily life proved that Götze was still a child. He frequently misplaced things, losing at least 3 pairs of headphones within a single month, and would always call Buvač to help him search, almost treating him as a nanny.
Marco Reus appeared more introverted, but in reality, he was a slightly proud and stubborn young man; he would joke around with everyone, but if he performed poorly and was teased, he would definitely train extra hard in private to prove his ability. These players were all like overgrown children, and Buvač felt like a kindergarten principal.
In contrast, Jin Hayes, as the youngest player in the entire team, seemed more like an adult than anyone else present. In private conversations, Jin Hayes's unintentional remarks often left Buvač in awe. Without thirty or forty years of life experience, one couldn't express such profound insights into the world.
Of course, this was only in his normal state.
When it came to romance, Jin Hayes finally showed the innocence of a teenage boy, which made Buvač breathe a sigh of relief. Otherwise, he would truly suspect that Jin Hayes harboured a 30-year-old soul.
At this moment, the other players on the plane were all joking around, creating a chaotic scene. Jin Hayes sat quietly by the window, earnestly reading the financial and social news sections of The Times.
"Jin, are you interested in these?" Buvač was genuinely curious. Did a 16-year-old kid understand what the subprime mortgage crisis was?
"Hmm, I find it quite interesting. They're all touting that the European economy is about to take off, and that the quantitative easing and fiscal stimulus from Germany and France show a glimmer of hope. I feel like these media people are quite optimistic."
"Ah? No way, shouldn't the European economy recover?"
"It's quite difficult; there might even be a chain reaction, especially in southern countries like Greece, Spain, and Italy. I feel that Italy's economic downturn will directly affect Serie A, leading to low attendance and excellent players gradually leaving, making it increasingly difficult. Our Germany will be relatively better off."
"Wait a minute?" Buvač was completely bewildered. He couldn't even grasp the concepts of some of the points Jin Hayes casually mentioned.
"Will that affect my house purchases? Or stock investments?"
"Buying a house? That's great; this year is historically low, so you can definitely buy. Munich or Berlin would be best. If you have connections, you can buy a house in Spain; it might surge in value in the next few years. For stock investments, it's better to be cautious and buy gold or German government bonds. Unnecessary expenses should be reduced as much as possible."
"Wait, how do you know all this? Are these all suggestions from the media?"
"No, I just said it casually, so just listen casually. None of these constitute investment advice, hahaha." Jin Hayes quickly became alert and hastily laughed it off. He had been completely in a state of blankness just now. Especially before a major battle, Jin Hayes would always read some irrelevant things to clear his mind, putting himself in "standby mode." This way, on match day, he could often maintain better form and be more focused on the field.
Jin Hayes himself wasn't sure how these thoughts had popped into his head; he guessed it was related to his instincts. The clearest memories in his mind were always football-related content. Regarding current events, finance, and other aspects of people's livelihoods, Jin Hayes's memory was quite vague. Otherwise, if he could remember clearly, he would have long ago arranged for Jorge Mendes to open an account for him to trade stocks, ensuring sufficient financial security after retirement.
Oh, right, maybe after getting off the plane, I can call Mendes. Ask him to help buy a few stocks—Apple, Google, Tencent Hong Kong stocks, and what about some newer investments? Jin Hayes had never even heard of them and had no idea if they were reliable. None of this was important; as a professional player, his focus would always be on the professional field. Private business investments could be handled by Mendes's team.
Originally, Mendes had also arranged many print advertisements for Jin Hayes. Coca-Cola, domestic sports brand Anta, and fashion brand Armani, all of whom he had contracts with, were trying to book Jin Hayes's time. To cope with the recent important schedule, Jin Hayes pushed all public appearances to the summer break. No one was going to disturb his training and matches. If the brands weren't happy, well, too bad; there were plenty of competitors requesting cooperation.
As a rising star in the Bundesliga, Jin Hayes's popularity continued to increase, and his commercial value experienced explosive growth. Combined with his good looks, Mendes had enough confidence to build Jin Hayes into the next "Beckham."
On this planet, you might not know Ronaldinho or Zidane, but at least you've heard of Beckham. Mendes had no doubt that Jin Hayes would also create a significant cross-over effect in the future. Compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, Mendes even wanted to focus on developing Jin Hayes within the agency, already planning to promote Jin Hayes to an S-level project, on par with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Jin Hayes and Željko Buvač chatted all the way. As soon as they arrived at Manchester Airport, Jin Hayes received a call from Mendes himself.
"Hey! Jin, you should have landed, right?"
"That's right, I'm in England, just got off the plane."
"That's great! I'll also personally come to the Theatre of Dreams to cheer you on the day after tomorrow. Do you want to meet up then?"
"I think you're cheering for Ronaldo, aren't you?"
"Haha..." Mendes laughed heartily and loudly, covering up his embarrassment. "You two are both my favourite players; I will definitely remain neutral and treat you both equally."
"Whatever." Jin Hayes didn't care who Mendes supported. Even if Mendes supported Cristiano Ronaldo 100%, Jin Hayes would still beat Manchester United just the same.
"Oh, by the way, Jorge. Keep an eye on a few stocks for me…" Jin Hayes briefly described his thoughts from the plane.
"Ah? Are you sure?"
"Yes, profit or loss doesn't matter, just for fun."
"Alright, well, you have enough capital anyway."
In just a few months, Jin Hayes had accumulated nearly €670,000 in disposable net income. Plus the roughly €1 million in endorsement fees paid in advance by brands, Jin Hayes's current holdings of over €1 million were indeed a considerable amount of investment capital.
Originally, Mendes's plan was for over 40% of this money to be conservative financial management, about 20% for high-risk investments, and the remaining 40% for Jin Hayes's daily luxury spending. Since Jin Hayes rarely had high expenditures in his daily life, Mendes simply followed Jin Hayes's wishes and allocated a portion for aggressive investments.
In Mendes's view, Jin Hayes's weekly salary would at least double within 3 years at most. If a transfer situation arose in the next few years, Mendes was confident he could negotiate Jin Hayes's salary to the top level of the league, with a weekly salary of at least €200,000. At that time, income would be the main focus; the current weekly salary of tens of thousands of euros was just a small sum.
"Then I'll spend €100,000 to buy Apple stock for you, okay?" Mendes casually made a joke.
"Sure, whatever." Jin Hayes walked off the plane with his hands in his pockets, waiting for his luggage at the baggage claim with his Borussia Dortmund teammates. Hearing Mendes's teasing, Jin Hayes didn't take it seriously. €100,000, that's it, small money.
"Alright, then I'll arrange it." Mendes wasn't too concerned at this time either. Apple's stock price was currently around $78; €100,000 would only buy a little over 1,600 shares. In Mendes's view, even if Apple's stock price rose to $100 at most in the future, €100,000 would only turn into around €1.2 million at most. Over €1 million was small money for Jin Hayes, with an investment return rate of only 28%.
However, in the years to come, Mendes would look back on this moment and marvel at how prescient Jin Hayes had been. But by then, Jin Hayes's football earnings would have long surpassed any stock market windfall.
"Is this the Theatre of Dreams?"
"It doesn't look like much, not as good as Westfalen."
"It feels quite spectacular."
"No matter what, there's another new stadium waiting for us to conquer!"
April 15, 2009. England, Manchester, Old Trafford stadium.
A group of young men from Borussia Dortmund were conducting an adaptation training session here. The next day, they would face the second leg of the battle, confronting the Red Devils Manchester United in a fight to the death. On the eve of the big battle, the Borussia Dortmund lads were in good spirits. Old Trafford was filled with laughter.
Looking at Jin Hayes, Marco Reus, Mats Hummels, and other young players on the field, Jürgen Klopp also felt 10 years younger.
"This is great, is this youth?"
"Jürgen."
"What?"
"You're really not good at this sentimental stuff."
"That's why I hate you so much; you always undermine me."
"Thank you, my pleasure." Buvač said indifferently.
"What about tomorrow? Are you confident?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure."
Klopp, who was always full of passion, showed a hint of uncertainty in his eyes. However, looking at the group of young men on the field, his gaze became much firmer.
"It's all up to them. Win or lose, it will be a valuable battle for them."