0011 I lost 100 billion

All night, Huang Kaiwen was preoccupied and didn't even sleep with Barbara.

Early the next morning, he received a phone call from the club's vice president, "European Four Nations Tournament Champion" Gagliani.

"Kevin, I've got some good news for you, your performance yesterday caught a lot of people's attention."

"Ah… okay, but Mr. President, it's only 8 AM."

Huang Kaiwen, who was suffering from insomnia, had only fallen asleep at 3 AM, giving him just five hours of sleep.

"Vice president, vice president," Gagliani gently reminded him, suppressing his excitement as he advised, "You're still young, young people should exercise some restraint, otherwise you'll retire early like those Brazilians."

"Alright, if you called just to say that, then thanks, but I'd like to go back to sleep. By the way, I didn't sleep with Barbara last night."

"No no no, don't hang up the phone yet."

Gagliani hurriedly said, "Wait until you wake up and come to the club, your performance yesterday attracted a lot of sponsors, and they are very interested in endorsing you personally."

Upon hearing this, Huang Kaiwen perked up.

Someone coming to give money? That's great.

"Have the sponsors arrived, Mr. President?"

"Most of them are here; they flew in from various parts of Europe. They all want to sign you."

"Okay, I'll be right there!"

Huang Kaiwen said excitedly.

He had been regretting not having enough money to buy Greece before, but now that people were giving money, he was a bit worried whether William Hill could handle his betting slip.

"Barbara, get up~"

Huang Kaiwen went to the master bedroom, opened the quilt, and slapped the cheekiest part of the young lady.

"Ugh, I was not happy at all sleeping alone last night."

Barbara grabbed Huang Kaiwen and pulled him onto the bed.

Huang Kaiwen could only silently apologize to Gattu, saying it wasn't his fault for not being punctual.

By noon, when they arrived at the club, they saw many people in the team meeting room.

Gagliani stood up to tell him, "They are all from the brands. The club has already hired a lawyer for you in advance. As a big star, you need to find an agent now, and I have a guy I know quite well; I'll introduce you to him later."

"Uh, okay, thank you."

Huang Kaiwen nodded, but he wouldn't accept the agent introduced by Gattu.

It wasn't certain how many years he could play in Milan, and getting too entangled with AC Milan's President could be problematic.

It was somewhat strange that Gagliani had called all the sponsors together, but then Huang Kaiwen realized.

Gattu was indeed cunning, gathering everyone together meant a bidding mode was on.

No wonder the old guy could ride a bicycle all over Europe to sign players without a visa.

After briefly getting acquainted with the lawyer the club had appointed to handle his contract, this lawyer named Sang Baoli reminded him, "You must not agree to them hastily. After your debut yesterday, everyone has already decided that you will demonstrate unparalleled strength from the start of the season, so your treatment should be nearly as good as Zidane's."

"Oh, okay."

Huang Kaiwen hadn't expected the outside world to have such high expectations for him.

Those expectations must be high.

Speaking of which, after injuring his toe yesterday, he felt speechless. It was too easy to get injured, and if he actually played in a game with physical confrontations, it probably wouldn't be just minor injuries.

"Adidas has been the sponsor of AC Milan, so we would like to sign a personal sponsorship contract with you. Adidas is willing to sign you for 5 years, with an annual pay of 1.2 million Euros," said the person with an obviously Germanic appearance as he spoke first.

"Ha," someone immediately scoffed with disdain, "Didn't expect you would react so quickly this time, but the offer is too low. Nike is willing to sign you for 3 years for 2.5 million Euros annually, with a 10% increase each year, and will revise the contract based on the market rate after 3 years."

"There's hardly any sincerity," Sang Baoli whispered with his hand over his mouth. "With the huge Asian market behind you, just China alone could make them a lot of money. It used to be that China didn't have stars worth signing, but with your country's vast market, your endorsement fee should be the highest in the soccer world."

"Hmm, you handle it," Huang Kaiwen said without a change of expression. In his previous life, he was just a housebound writer, who had written about such scenarios but had never experienced them. The lawyer seemed reliable, better let the professionals handle it.

Because of Huang Kaiwen's request, all the brands Sang Baoli helped him secure were ready to make immediate payments.

Eventually, he signed with over 20 brands including Nike, Castrol, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Pro Evolution Soccer, Fendi, and Gatorade, covering endorsements in all aspects of daily life.

He immediately received a payment of more than 7 million Euros, and after further communications with these companies, they would continue to send him money, along with an advance of 1 million from the club and a signing bonus of 200,000, totaling 13.2 million for the day.

Just from these endorsements, they would bring him an income of 12 million Euros every year in the future.

Sang Baoli said there would be even more sponsors in the future, including those from his motherland, China.

The primary reason was his significant nationality advantage.

China, along with other Asian countries, made his commercial value far exceed all players in Europe's soccer leagues, and there were no replacements.

Their current signings already showed a significant loss.

If he played stably for half a season, Sang Baoli was confident he could double the offers.

Kevin listened with his eyes rolling.

Playing for half a season would reveal his true abilities; Milan might even change the locks on his locker. If possible, he would rather sign a lifelong endorsement with them at a lower rate.

If it weren't for the lawyer firmly holding him back, he would have accepted Nike's 8-year contract already.

After all, with his suggestion and Sang Baoli's forceful negotiation, his endorsement contracts did not require any minimum number of appearances unlike top European players; otherwise, a serious injury keeping them out for a season without any brand exposure would mean a big loss for the brands.

The brands also feared prolonging negotiations might stir troubles, although there was an element of gambling involved, signing Huang Kaiwen early was obviously more profitable, and it was unlikely that Huang Kaiwen would always be injured. Showing some good faith also couldn't hurt.

After getting the money, an excited Huang Kaiwen grabbed Barbara and was about to go betting.

Barbara widened her eyes at him, "Are you buying 12 million on Greece?"

"Yes, I trust my intuition and I trust Rehagel," Huang Kaiwen nodded and said.

"You're insane," Barbara scratched her head vigorously, completely puzzled by Huang Kaiwen's crazy actions, to her, betting on Greece was no different than giving money away.

"Trust me, or I'll go by myself in a cab,"

"…Phew," Barbara sighed deeply before speaking, "Even if I trust you, you need to know, players are not allowed to participate in this kind of betting."

Huang Kaiwen: …???

What the heck are you talking about?

This morning the odds for Greece were already 81. Betting 12 million, if Greece wins the championship, that's 972 million Euros, which is more than a hundred billion in Renminbi.

Now you're telling me players are not allowed to bet?

Can I retire in time now?

If I don't bet, wouldn't I be losing a hundred billion?

Huang Kaiwen, struck by this massive blow, slumped in the passenger seat, like a salted fish who had lost all its dreams.