In fact, signing Ribéry was not too difficult for Sporting de Gijón.
Sporting de Gijón was a team in the Segunda División and would participate in the UEFA Europa League next season.
What about Ribéry now? He was now playing for Brest, a team in the French Third Division. More importantly, Ribéry's contract with Brest would expire in half a year. This Segunda División team did not seem to recognize Ribéry's ability and did not intend to renew his contract.
Therefore, for Li Ang, the only obstacle to signing a contract with Ribéry was to convince Ribéry of his identity. Speaking of which, this was also related to Li Ang's identity as a Chinese and his young age. It was hard to imagine that a Chinese man who was less than 30 years old was the manager of a Segunda División club.
What Li Ang did not expect was that the person who solved this big problem was actually Ribéry's wife, Vasilba. To be precise, it was Vasilba who brought a large plate of mutton pie.
The plate was a little hot, so Vasilba brought it over with a piece of newspaper.
When Ribéry's wife asked the guests to enjoy the mutton pie, Ribéry directly picked up the newspaper under the plate.
It was a 'L' Equipe 'from a few days ago. It was a report on the Copa del Rey. There were a few photos. One was of Zidane being sent off with a red card, and another was of an Asian man waving his fist in celebration.
It was the picture of Li Ang celebrating when Sporting de Gijón won the Copa del Rey.
The report stated clearly in black and white that Sporting de Gijón, under the leadership of their Chinese manager, Li Ang, defeated Real Madrid at the Bernabéu with a score of 4-3. It was a big upset and they picked up the Copa del Rey trophy.
Of course, the 'L' Equipe 'report was mainly about Zidane being sent off with a red card. However, it still reported about Li Ang and Sporting de Gijón winning the Copa del Rey.
*****
"This … Is this you?" Ribéry stuttered.
"Of course." Li Ang smiled. He did not hide his surprise and happiness. With this newspaper, Ribéry's suspicions should be gone. The biggest obstacle would no longer exist.
Ribry's wife, Vasilba, also came over to take a look at the newspaper that was stained with oil. She looked at the photo on the newspaper and then glanced at Li Ang.
As soon as Vasilba served the food, she knew that there was a guest. However, she had no idea what Li Ang was here for.
"Frank, they —" asked Vasilba.
"This gentleman is the manager of this club. He invited me to play in Spain." Ribéry spoke quickly to his wife. He could not hide the excitement in his eyes. Now that he had confirmed Li Ang's identity, he was naturally overjoyed. "They just defeated Real Madrid and won the Spanish Cup! Such a team, they invited me. Their manager personally came to invite me … "
Ribéry was very excited. He spoke quickly and his eyes were a little red.
"I know, I know. You're the best, my dear." Vasilba looked at her husband with love in her eyes.
Li Ang and Banderas did not say anything. The two of them looked at the scene. This couple's life was obviously very poor, but they loved each other and helped each other in difficult times.
Li Ang was completely relieved. Ribéry would definitely agree to go to Sporting de Gijón.
For the current Ribéry, an invitation from a Spanish second-division team was irresistible. Furthermore, Sporting de Gijón had the qualification to play in Europe next season. As for leaving his home and leaving France to play in Spain, this was not a problem for the extremely poor Ribéry at this time.
As expected, Ribéry gave an affirmative answer.
*****
"Mr. Frank, are you willing to …" asked Li Ang.
"I'm willing!" Ribéry said immediately.
Well, now it was time to exchange the rings. Uh, it was time to talk about personal benefits and sign the contract.
Li Ang was fully prepared for this trip. He had to ensure that he signed Ribéry. If he didn't see Ribéry sign his personal contract, he wouldn't feel at ease. He had to bear in mind the truth of long delays and dreams.
Therefore, Li Ang came with a formal contract.
The key areas such as name, date, and salary were blank. They could be written by hand.
Moreover, considering that Ribéry was French and did not understand Spanish, Li Ang also prepared a contract in French.
Ribéry looked at the contract carefully and whispered to his wife, who was next to him. The two of them did not avoid Li Ang and Banderas.
Li Ang first talked about the salary. This was because he knew that Ribéry was concerned about the salary first.
Li Ang compared Ribéry's salary to the current Sporting de Gijón team.
This was partly because Sporting de Gijón's financial situation was not very good. He could not give Ribéry too high a salary at this time. After all, Ribéry was just a nameless player in the Spanish Third Division. Also, Li Ang knew Ribéry's future achievements. He firmly believed that Ribéry would quickly shine in Sporting de Gijón. The salary at the beginning was not high. This also left some leeway and space for a higher salary in the future.
Li Ang was still worried that Ribéry would have a problem with the salary. After all, he just saw this guy's attitude towards money.
However, Ribéry didn't raise any objections to the salary. Although the salary offered by Li Ang wasn't high, it was still much higher than the salary he was currently receiving at Brest Club. Ribéry was quite satisfied with the salary.
Furthermore, Ribéry was a smart person. He knew that at this time, he was not qualified to make any unreasonable demands. If he wanted to earn more, he would have to wait until he made a name for himself.
Furthermore, Li Ang, as the manager of a Segunda División B team, had personally come to Brest to look for him at the construction site where he worked. He had actually made a special trip to sign him. This made Ribéry feel somewhat moved.
For this down and out 21-year-old young man, Li Ang's sincerity was very precious!
*****
If there was no problem with the salary, then there was no problem with the rest.
Then, Li Ang wrote down the salary, the length of the contract, and so on in the blank space.
This was a four-year contract.
There were three copies, and they were all pushed in front of Ribéry.
Ribéry glanced at his wife. She looked at her husband with encouragement and love.
Then, Ribéry directly took out a pen and signed his name on the three copies of the contract: Franck Ribéry.
Because Ribéry's contract with Brest would expire in a month, under these circumstances, Ribéry had the right to contact and sign with any club. If Li Ang wanted to sign Ribéry, he did not need to have any contact with Brest, the team that Ribéry currently played for. Therefore, now that Ribéry had signed a personal contract with Sporting de Gijón, this also meant that after a month, Franck Ribéry would be a Sporting de Gijón player.
Li Ang did not have the slightest bit of guilt or embarrassment towards Brest, the French Third Division team that Ribéry currently played for. Since you were blind and did not think highly of Ribéry and did not renew the contract with Ribéry, then don't blame me for coming to poach you.
Seeing that Ribéry had signed, Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief. He was so happy that he almost wanted to raise his arms.
"Welcome, Franck. On behalf of Sporting de Gijón, I welcome you." Li Ang stood up and smiled. He extended his right hand to the Frenchman called Franck Ribéry.
"Sir, I won't let you down." Ribéry appeared to be a little emotional. Both of his hands held Li Ang's hand.
Looking at the emotional Ribéry, Li Ang's chest felt even better than drinking ice-cold sour plum juice during the hottest days of summer …
'Ribéry is mine!'
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