Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 19 Thomas Cross

The day after the match, news of Kaffinburg's victory over Red Bull Salzburg was everywhere in Austria.

Chinese prodigy Shan Yongzhuo has once again become the focus of heated discussion.

Two goals speak for themselves. Even if he didn't perform particularly well at other times, scoring two goals is the best he could do.

With these two goals, Shan Yongzhuo's goal tally reached 12, just 6 goals behind Mark Janko's 18.

However, this only sparked heated discussions in Austria, and of course, in China as well.

The Austrian league has too little influence and struggles to garner widespread attention in Europe.

Back at the club, Shan Yongzhuo's life remained filled with training. He was even more diligent than before, spending all his free time either on the training field or in the gym.

Physical fitness remains his biggest problem. Three days later, he was not included in the squad for the Austrian Cup due to physical reasons.

However, their opponent was only an Austrian second division team, and Kafenberg was much stronger. They won 0-3 away from home without much effort.

After finishing training that day, Shan Yongzhuo returned to his dormitory from the gym. Outside the base, he was stopped by a voice.

"Are you single?"

"you are?"

Standing in front of me was a middle-aged man in a suit and tie. He extended his hand and said, "My name is Thomas, Thomas Cross."

Shan Yongzhu shook hands with the other person and asked, puzzled, "Oh, hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

Cross's lips twitched.

This guy doesn't even recognize me, Thomas Cross?
I'm a former German international footballer!
It shouldn’t be!

Is it possible that young people today don't recognize me after being away from football for so long?

However, he maintained a very polite smile: "Don't you recognize me? Then you should know PRO profil, right? That's the company I founded."

"You might not believe it, but I really didn't know," Shan Yongzhuo said with an awkward smile.

Does anyone know what kind of company this is?

Kroos's face darkened further. Well, he was now convinced that this Chinese player was truly ignorant.

Yes, perhaps he's a player with some mental issues.

But it's okay, with me, Thomas Kroos, around, he'll definitely become a superstar.

Kross coughed awkwardly twice and patiently explained to Shan Yongzhuo.

Only then did Shan Yongzhuo realize that this was a German player agency, quite famous in Germany. Thomas Kroos, a former German international, founded the company in 1995.

Ok.

But Shan Yongzhuo didn't know that in his previous life he was just a particularly fake fan, let alone pay attention to these agencies.

But why did this guy come to see me?
Sure enough, Kroos revealed his purpose: "I've watched your games, and in my opinion, you're a talented player. But I've checked, and you don't have an agent yet. If possible, I'd like to become your agent."

Shan Yongzhuo pursed his lips and said, "Of course I know I'm a genius, but Mr. Cross, I'd like to know, what can you do for me?"

Cross's lips twitched; this kid seemed pretty shrewd.

The two then found a coffee shop and had a detailed conversation.

Shan Yongzhuo also did some research online and found that the other party was indeed a large brokerage firm with considerable influence in Germany.

The opposing team currently has a promising German star like Neuer. Although I'm not a die-hard football fan, Shan Yongzhuo knows Neuer. He is the future starting goalkeeper for the German national team, the goalkeeper who won the 2014 World Cup, and he pioneered the goalkeeper position, even once holding the title of the world's best goalkeeper.

Signing Kroos seems like a good idea?

At least, if I want to go to the Bundesliga, the other side's ability to make arrangements is still very good.

Furthermore, Kroos isn't the kind of agent who preys on others; his commission isn't high, just a normal percentage. When he handled Shan Yongzhuo's transfer, his commission was 15%, with no share of salary or bonuses. He would take 12% of other commercial operations, which is within the normal range.

Dan Yongzhuo thought about it and it seemed there was no reason to refuse, but he still had one question that he cared about most.

“Mr. Cross, everything else is fine, but I have one more question, which I believe you also know: I can’t stay in Austria indefinitely.”

Kroos nodded. In fact, he had a very high opinion of Shan Yongzhuo. In Kroos's view, although this striker was mediocre in all aspects, his goal-scoring ability was really terrifying.

For a striker, scoring goals is the most important thing.

This is why he came to Austria in person.

Shan Yongzhuo continued, "But I don't really want to leave for the time being, so I hope you won't encourage me to transfer."

Kroos laughed and said, "Of course, I will only provide you with information. The specific transfer is up to you to decide. I will not interfere."

Shan Yongzhuo nodded. This was what he feared most: some of the big European agents would constantly urge their players to transfer frequently.

He doesn't want to leave Kaffinburg right now, at least not for the next year.

"One more thing, I know that your main connections are in Germany, but I personally don't really like the Bundesliga, and I hope you can understand."

This is another reason why Shan Yongzhuo hesitated.

Kroos's company is a German company, and his main network of contacts is in Germany. His connections and networks in other European countries are relatively limited.

If he transfers, he's unlikely to make a big name for himself in Kaflenberg. The most likely outcome is that he'll move to Germany, which is where many young Austrian players end up.

Shan Yongzhuo has absolutely no interest in the Bundesliga, mainly because there are simply too few matches in a Bundesliga season.

The Bundesliga has only 34 rounds, two fewer than the Austrian Bundesliga's 36 rounds. Even with the German Cup included, there aren't many matches.

What Shan Yongzhuo needs most is more games and more goals.

Kroos thought for a moment and smiled, "You may have a misunderstanding. My main business is in Germany, but that doesn't mean I can only help you operate in Germany. As long as you can perform well, your future will not be limited to Germany."

Shan Yongzhuo nodded.

The two had a pleasant conversation and quickly made a decision.

After the meeting, Kroos returned to Germany to prepare the relevant signing documents. He was very happy to have secured the deal with Shan Yongzhuo.

Currently, he manages many outstanding young German players, including Neuer and Herrmann.

However, Kroos was still not as good as another German star, Walker Strutt, in terms of player quality, so Kroos decided to try a different approach.

He set his sights on players from the East, especially Japan.

Kroos orchestrated Makoto Hasebe's move to Wolfsburg, and now he has his sights set on two other young Japanese players, Atsuto Uchida and Shinji Kagawa.

He believes that after a year or two of honing their skills, he is confident he can lead both players to the Bundesliga.

At this moment, he suddenly discovered that Austria actually had a Chinese genius, which surprised Kroos.

Through watching the competition videos, he discovered that this Chinese prodigy was indeed as outstanding as the news described.

Kroos even elevated his future to the same level as Neuer.

So he immediately went to Austria, determined to sign this Chinese genius, which he felt would be very meaningful for his Eastern strategy.

The results went very smoothly, which pleased Kroos.

As for Shan Yongzhuo, he didn't think that much about it.

The most immediate feeling is that I have my own agent now...

(End of this chapter)