The newsroom of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung was unusually restless that morning, even for a Monday. Phones rang across the open floor, keyboards clacked relentlessly, and the low hum of reporters discussing leads filled the air like static. At a corner desk near the wide windows sat Helena Möller, one of the paper's sharper sports correspondents—young, hungry, and with a reputation for sniffing out the stories other reporters overlooked.
She sat forward in her chair, scrolling through her laptop with the intense focus of someone who knew she was one big headline away from a career surge. Her email inbox was dry, her calls over the last hour had yielded little more than stale gossip, and she was beginning to feel that familiar frustration creeping into her shoulders.
Then something on her screen caught her eye.
A Marca article. Headline bold, centred, loud.
"Atlético monitor Bundesliga wonderkid Lukas Brandt — club urged to hurry after City table €77M + €8M bid."
