Hearing that the eighteen-year-old black-haired youth had such grand ambitions, even Raiola, who had dealt with arrogant geniuses like Ibrahimović, Pogba, and Balotelli, couldn't help but be startled.
This kid is too ambitious, isn't he?!
However, he thought about it again and felt relieved.
Ambition is good!
Ambition represents desire.
And desire is the powerful force that drives a person to constantly move forward and develop!
With a slight smile, Raiola immediately retorted:
"Every player wants championships and the Ballon d'Or. But you are just an unknown nobody who hasn't even started a single Bundesliga match. What makes you think you can achieve that?"
Facing Raiola's question, Mark just smiled and asked in return:
"Mr. Raiola, if I didn't have talent and skill, would you have sought me out?"
Meeting Mark's emerald green eyes, Raiola was infected by the young man's straightforward sincerity and also smiled:
"You have a lot of personality, I like it very much."
"Mark, can I give you some advice?"
"Of course!"
"In my opinion, your dribbling is amazing and pleasing to watch, reminding me of Neymar and Ronaldinho."
"However, your physical fitness is average, your speed isn't fast enough, your body isn't strong enough..."
"You should improve your strength, and then..."
After patiently waiting for Raiola to finish, Mark finally spoke:
"Regarding my performance on the field, you can rest assured. If we sign, I will show you my ability and potential."
"Regarding on-field competition, I don't need you to tell me what to do; I will solve the problems myself. But off the field, I need you to help me handle everything!"
Upon hearing this, Raiola was not angered by the arrogance in Mark's words but was instead amused:
"Hahaha, you are even more confident than Ibrahimović was back then!"
"Since you are so confident, then I will do my best to help you get everything you want!"
Raiola positioned himself humbly, even as an auxiliary role.
He didn't tell Mark to listen to him completely, as he had told a young Ibrahimović back then, nor did he make grand promises to other unknown young players.
Having been in this business for many years, he could roughly understand a person's character from a brief conversation.
In his opinion, Mark was very opinionated and had his own ideas, and like Ibrahimović and Pogba, he had strong confidence in his football skills.
This black-haired youth in front of him seemed to firmly believe that he could become a great player who would lift the Ballon d'Or.
Anyway, for him, this young man was just one of his many future investment projects.
If it succeeds, that's great.
If not, it wouldn't cause him much loss.
As for Mark, Raiola, this fat man, was like a gift delivered to his doorstep.
Without too much deliberation, he decided to sign with Raiola.
Firstly, he had no more suitable candidate than Raiola at the moment.
He had no trusted relatives or friends, and everything was his own decision.
And he didn't have more time to deal with off-field matters.
Secondly, his impression of Raiola was quite good.
Although he was hated by clubs and fans, and dubbed the "most greedy man" in international football,
from a player's perspective, he was a dream agent.
He always stood by the players, offered advice, negotiated better salaries, and recommended players to the best teams.
Ibrahimović called him a friend and mentor, and he was the first person Balotelli called after setting his house on fire... These stories all illustrate how much players trusted Raiola.
Finally, Raiola's sincerity was also hard to refuse.
After all, with his status in the football world, personally coming to recruit a small fry like himself could be considered a gesture of valuing talent.
He could completely feel Raiola's respect and importance towards him!
Of course, this was his career, and he would definitely be in control.
The two parties were in a cooperative relationship, not a superior-subordinate one.
If Raiola, this agent, couldn't meet his requirements, or if there were any conflicts between them, he could completely fire him and get a new one!
Subsequently, the two agreed to officially sign the contract the next day.
As he was leaving, Raiola didn't forget to pull out a pen, write a string of numbers on a napkin, and hand it to Mark:
"This is my number, save it in your phone. You can find me for anything."
"Remember, if you set your house on fire, don't call me, call the police."
"I can't put out fires."
Hearing Raiola's joke, Mark also smiled,
"Don't worry, I'm very comfortable living here, I wouldn't bear to set it on fire..."
Patting Mark's shoulder, Raiola casually made a promise:
"As long as you perform well in the remaining half-season, I guarantee your salary will double, and you'll soon be able to live in a bigger house than this!"
...The next day.
In the morning, the two met at an Italian restaurant to complete the signing of the agency contract.
And so, Mark Lane became another future star under Raiola, following a host of big-name players like Ibrahimović, Pogba, Verratti, and Balotelli!
"Happy cooperation!"
And just after signing the contract, it wasn't even ten o'clock yet, Mark also remembered to call Müller at Sports 360 and rejected his offer:
"I'm sorry, I'm not interested in your company's proposal."
The other party was also confused by the sudden reply.
Subsequently, Raiola was also decisive and immediately took Mark to the Wolfsburg club base.
As the black Beetle slowly drove towards the base gate, two reporters waiting outside the gate also saw the fat man wearing sunglasses sitting in the passenger seat.
They, of course, recognized this person; it was the notorious "vampire" of football, Raiola!
Surprised, the two instinctively pressed the shutter quickly, taking a photo of Mark and Raiola together.
Then, the reporter immediately called his superior:
"Boss, big news!"
Of course, this was also part of Raiola's plan.
After arriving at the Wolfsburg base in Mark's Beetle, Raiola also directly visited the team's chairman and sporting director, greeting them.
And facing the sudden arrival of Raiola, both the team chairman and sporting director Allofs immediately had a headache.
Mark actually signed with this "vampire"?!
In that case, negotiating contracts with him in the future would definitely be an extremely difficult and maddening task... And Raiola's brazen purpose was actually very simple: to send a message to the club:
From today onwards, I'm looking out for this kid, Mark!