Chapter 139: Intensive Training and Contract Renewal Talks

Chapter 139: Intensive Training and Contract Renewal Talks

Guidolin's proposal was something Bruno couldn't refuse, so he agreed. While other Udinese players were either heading to their national teams for the World Cup in Brazil or beginning their vacations, Bruno found himself in the quiet training grounds of Udinese, starting a 40-day intensive training regimen.

Bruno wasn't averse to the intensive training; he was all too familiar with it. Since his arrival in this timeline, the Training Master System had kept him under a continuous and varied training schedule, not sparing even his sleeping hours. This time, though, the training was overseen by people instead of the system, giving Bruno a chance to experience a different approach to training. This summer, even if he returned to his home in Portugal, he knew the Training Master System would have training plans ready for him. The system aimed to train him to become one of the strongest players in history, and he was still a distance away from that goal.

As Bruno began his special training with the Udinese coaching staff, major European leagues concluded, champions were crowned, and clubs experienced both joy and sorrow. The UEFA Champions League was clinched by Real Madrid, who triumphed over their city rivals Atlético Madrid in a Spanish showdown. Florentino Pérez finally achieved his decima, the dream of a tenth European Cup, which he had waited twelve years to realize. Atlético faced the misfortune of losing in the finals for the second time.

Although Cristiano Ronaldo scored 17 goals in 11 Champions League matches, his contributions were seen as minimal, especially since his only goal in the final came from a penalty in extra time, which was considered insignificant to the outcome.

In the Premier League, post-Ferguson, Manchester City snatched the title. Ferguson's fellow Scot at Manchester United didn't last a season, leading the team to their darkest moments in the Premier League era. They finished seventh, a performance that didn't even secure them a spot in the Europa League. The joke going around was that with Ferguson gone, United's true form without referee favors was showing.

Between intense training sessions, Bruno occasionally surfed the internet, amused by the familiar discourse online.

During this period, while Bruno was busy with training and online forays, his agent Mendes was not idle. He was deep in tough contract renewal negotiations with the club. Mendes kept Bruno informed about every detail of the negotiations through calls or emails, which is why Bruno understood the difficulty in the talks. Mendes was known for being a tough, principled agent.

The initial idea of renegotiating Bruno's contract came from Udinese right after the season ended following their unprecedented success. The club wanted to reward Bruno for his contributions and initiated talks about a new contract. Bruno's original five-year contract included a €40 million release clause, a figure that seemed high at the time but, after just one season, had become a bargain due to his skyrocketing value.

Udinese's quick move to start negotiations post-season was to secure Bruno's future at the club and prevent him from being snapped up for a relatively low fee. However, negotiations hit a snag over the release clause. Mendes felt the club's proposed €120 million was too high and sought to lower it to below €80 million, ideally around €60 million. Udinese, having learned from past experiences, was not keen on making the same mistake twice.

Bruno's value was only expected to rise, especially with Champions League football on the horizon. Setting the clause at €60 million might have led to wealthy clubs triggering it that summer.

As the wrangling over the release clause dragged on, Mendes threw another curveball by bringing up image rights. He did not want to hand over Bruno's image rights to Udinese but instead wanted to negotiate a fee or revenue-sharing arrangement for their use. Udinese, however, preferred to have full control over the player's image rights to freely capitalize on commercial opportunities without extra costs. This was particularly important for financially struggling clubs like Udinese, which saw a talent like Bruno as a potential gold mine.

The discussions stretched on, unresolved even as the World Cup was about to start. Bruno, for his part, was caught between his agent's strategies and the club's financial interests, all while maintaining his focus on the intensive training that would hopefully make him even more formidable on the European stage.

(End of Chapter)

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Chapter 138: Missing the World Cup in BrazilNueva12 de octubreMostrar menos

Chapter 138: Missing the World Cup in Brazil

As the European leagues were wrapping up, the start of the World Cup was drawing closer. By May, the final 23-man squads for the 32 World Cup teams were being announced.

On May 19th, the day after the Serie A season concluded, Portugal's head coach, Paulo Bento, announced his final 23-man squad for the World Cup. Led by stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe, and Nani, the squad did not include Quaresma or Udinese's midfield maestro, Bruno Fernandes, despite their earlier inclusion in the preliminary 30-man squad.

While many Portuguese fans had anticipated this outcome, the final announcement still caused a stir across Portugal. In early March, during a friendly match against Cameroon, referred to as the "African Lions," it was seen as Bento's last national team announcement before the World Cup squad list. In that lineup, despite introducing two newcomers from the Portuguese U21 team, Bruno was not called up.

A week prior, on May 13th, the Portuguese Football Federation had announced a preliminary 30-man squad for World Cup preparations, which included Bruno. However, everyone knew this was just the initial selection and that seven players would eventually be cut.

Portuguese fans naively believed that, given Bruno's performance during the season with Udinese, his inclusion in the final 23-man squad was almost guaranteed. Especially after his stellar performance in the Europa League final where he scored twice, became the top scorer, and was crowned both MVP and top assist provider, helping Udinese clinch the 2013-2014 Europa League title.

The fans thought such remarkable displays should convince Bento to set aside any personal differences for the national team's benefit. Moreover, there wasn't any known personal animosity between Bruno and Bento; it was more about the grievances between Bento and Bruno's club coach.

Historically, disputes between club coaches and national team managers are not uncommon. Among the midfielders listed in the 30-man squad—André Gomes, João Mário, Moutinho, Vierinha, Meireles, Amorim, and William Carvalho—none had performed as well as Bruno Fernandes had.

When the final squad was announced, the Portuguese realized they had underestimated Bento's stubbornness. The local media erupted in commentary, questioning Bento's decision-making.

With his performances over the past year at Udinese, Bruno's popularity and influence in Portugal had soared. Throughout the 2013-2014 season, he played 56 matches across Serie A, the Europa League, and the Coppa Italia, scoring 32 goals and providing 35 assists, directly contributing to 67 goals—more than any other player in Europe, even surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

In Serie A alone, Bruno played 36 games, scoring 18 goals and providing 23 assists, topping the assists chart and setting a new single-season record for assists in Serie A, surpassing the previous record held by Diego Maradona since the 1987-1988 season.

In Europe, Bruno's excellence continued. He played 16 matches in the Europa League, scoring 13 goals and providing 9 assists, securing both the top scorer and top assist provider awards for the season.

Such outstanding all-around performances had made Bruno one of Europe's premier attacking midfielders, sparking fantasies among Portuguese fans of a "Bruno + Ronaldo" strike partnership that could dominate the World Cup, fulfilling a long-unrealized national dream.

However, this dream was dashed even before the World Cup began.

Bruno had anticipated this outcome, understanding Bento's character well. Bento, who had played in the 2002 World Cup and managed the national team post-2010, was known for his authoritarian style. After notable internal conflicts with players like Carvalho and Bosingwa, who declared they would not play under him, Bento's approach had remained unchanged.

Despite Portugal's mediocre performance in the World Cup qualifiers, they managed to make it to the finals, which stabilized Bento's position. Given the previous examples of Carvalho and Bosingwa, Bruno knew that his chances were slim under Bento's management, especially since he had not been favored in the qualifiers or friendlies.

Bento was not one to use the World Cup as a training ground.

While mentally prepared for this outcome, Bruno was still deeply frustrated when it actually happened. Yet, he chose not to blame anyone, understanding that his coach had likely acted out of a desire to protect him from being stretched too thin between national and club duties.

Now, without the World Cup to worry about, Bruno was planning how to spend his vacation. Having not had a proper break since his arrival in this timeline nearly two years ago, he looked forward to some rest, after a busy season with 56 matches played in just about nine months.

However, just as Bruno was looking forward to a relaxing holiday, his coach, Guidolin, abruptly changed those plans. At Udinese's team celebration dinner, Guidolin approached Bruno with a proposition to delay his vacation for a special training program to enhance his physical condition, including fitness and strength, aimed at preparing him for the next season's Champions League.

Caught off guard, Bruno was initially resistant but realized the importance of the upcoming challenges in the Champions League and the potential benefits of the intensive training.

(End of Chapter)