That evening, Sean and Natalia made a gentleman's agreement, and the next day, he received a call from Raiola.
This time, he didn't decline. Sean also agreed with him to find time to talk in detail during the international match week in February.
Mendes, another powerful agent in football, had also approached Sean.
Unfortunately, Mendes was Cristiano Ronaldo's agent.
Sean explicitly asked one question: "When I compete for the Ballon d'Or, can you abandon Cristiano Ronaldo and fully support me?"
Mendes found it somewhat amusing and advised Sean not to get ahead of himself just because he had played a few good games.
"If you can consistently maintain the performance of these few matches, you can indeed compete for the Ballon d'Or, but can you?"
"Can you ensure you won't suffer any major injuries?"
"Can you be sure that even after opponents take you seriously, you can still consistently deliver extraordinary performances?"
"Even if you can, for how many seasons can you sustain it?"
Sean knew Mendes was right.
Before Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, players who could consistently maintain top-tier performance throughout their careers were considered elite; no one had ever maintained peak performance for more than ten years. Even those few 'peak-level' players only maintained peak performance for a few years.
Like Ronaldinho, a true footballing wizard, once he achieved all honors, he lost his drive, and his form immediately plummeted.
Other top players were pretty much the same.
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's ability to maintain peak form for a long time, besides the increasing advancements in sports science and their own resilience—basically not experiencing major injuries—is also closely related to their mutual motivation and their pursuit of excellence.
Many professional players, even top ones, couldn't understand why they, especially Cristiano Ronaldo, needed to persist so arduously. Their unwavering determination in pursuing excellence was evident.
Thus, for a full decade, the 'third best player' after Messi and Ronaldo in football changed every season, but the Ballon d'Or winners were only the two of them.
Of course, many other factors were involved, but generally, their own efforts played a decisive role.
Sean, of course, said he could do it.
Mendes, of course, didn't believe him. After all, he had managed countless players, and Cristiano Ronaldo was but one.
Moreover, he was too deeply tied to Cristiano Ronaldo; even if Sean genuinely could compete for the Ballon d'Or, it would be difficult for him to offer full support.
Mendes had no need to deceive Sean and could only persuade Sean to change his terms.
So, Sean thanked Mendes for his call, and their conversation ended there... On January 27th, in the 19th round of the Eredivisie, Ajax continued their rapid progress, winning 2-0 away against Go Ahead Eagles, and remained tied for first place with Eindhoven with a record of 12 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses, accumulating 40 points.
Sean's days of riding high, however, temporarily came to an end because he neither scored nor assisted in this match.
Although Sean was involved in both of Ajax's goals, there were no direct statistics, which allowed the media to discuss certain things.
For example, whether Sean was inexperienced and not quite adapted to the away atmosphere, and so on.
There was much public discussion, so much so that the next day, when the team had a day off and Sean proceeded with his usual training, Bergkamp appeared again and invited him to his home, where they spent a long time analyzing ways to cope with external pressure.
Although Sean already knew these principles, he was still very grateful.
Unfortunately, knowing is one thing, doing is another.
Knowing but not being able to do it is useless.
Otherwise, cyberbullying wouldn't be so powerful.
Sean considered his mental fortitude strong and was very clear about the media's true colors, but this was, after all, his first time facing such a situation.
When reporters surrounded Sean, asking how he viewed the public's questioning of his ability to handle away games, their expectant expressions were clear, with no intention of hiding them.
On the internet, various schadenfreude-filled jokes were constantly emerging.
It was just one match, and Sean's professional career had only just begun; it was unclear where they got the confidence to declare Sean a'soft-footed shrimp' in away games.
Sean had experienced many things in his later life, so he wasn't truly affected much, but it was impossible to be completely unaffected.
However, on the third day, after team training, when the press officer stopped Sean and handed him an invitation, the slight gloom hidden deep in Sean's heart vanished, and his whole demeanor brightened.
It was from the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands.
January 31st was the Lunar New Year of 2014, and the Chinese Embassy was holding a New Year's Eve dinner. Sean, as an outstanding overseas Chinese representative, was invited by the embassy to attend.
Sean immediately rushed to the Armani store with great enthusiasm and bought a suit with his card.
As soon as he got home, he received a call from his mother.
"Sean, why did you suddenly swipe your card?" Anna's inquiry was not very polite.
News of professional players indulging in lavish lifestyles was everywhere, and Anna certainly didn't want Sean to start imitating them now.
When Sean explained, Anna immediately became excited and rushed to Sean's side that very evening, pulling him to try on clothes again.
If the suit wasn't suitable anywhere, it had to be discovered and resolved early; waiting until the day of the event to make last-minute adjustments wouldn't do.
Sean had already tried it on, and his excitement had long passed. Now, he was being dragged by his mother to change clothes again.
It was unbelievable.
It was even more uncomfortable than when you're happily playing games at home during a holiday, and your wife or girlfriend insists on dragging you shopping and demands your serious critique of the clothes she picks out.
"Mom~" Sean said weakly, "It's just a dinner party. Why are you so excited? How come I didn't know you loved China so much?!"
Anna's grandfather was sent to Europe by the Beiyang Government like livestock, primarily to help the Allied Powers during World War I transport corpses. He stayed there after the war ended.
By Anna's generation, they had completely lost contact with China and had been exposed to negative propaganda since childhood.
Compared to her elders, who occasionally donated money to their home country, Anna didn't even speak Chinese very well and shouldn't have had much affection for China.
"They represent your father's country, after all. Of course, I'm happy that you received their invitation," Anna said, fastening a button.
Sean was shocked, "My father!!!"
"Why so loud? You startled me," Anna patted Sean.
"Is my father Chinese? Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Sean only knew his father died in a car accident and assumed he was also of Chinese descent, but he truly didn't know he was Chinese.
"Didn't I tell you?" Anna frowned, thinking for a moment. "Maybe not. After all, he's gone, so there's no need to say much more."
Sean rolled his eyes, "Yes, there is a great need!"
"Alright, alright," Anna carefully adjusted Sean's collar. "Your father was a Chinese international student. You've seen his photo.
He was also smart, even earning a Ph.D. in engineering, which is why I always told you to study.
Your father was a doctor. If you can't even get into university, how will I explain it to him when I see him in the future, right?
He just had bad luck. He finally managed to win over your grandparents and get them to agree to me marrying him, but then he was in a car accident a few years later.
You hadn't even been born yet."
Sean swallowed, "What about my father's family? Have you contacted them?"
"Contact them for what?" Anna said matter-of-factly, "Your father didn't have a good relationship with his family.
If he didn't rank first in his class in primary school, he'd get a beating. If he didn't rank first in his grade in middle school, he'd get a beating. If he didn't rank in the top three in the whole school in high school, he'd get a beating.
He only temporarily escaped that suffering when he went to university.
He ran away to study abroad; he didn't even let his family know his information while overseas. It's not like I couldn't raise you, so why would I contact them?"
"Oh~"
Sean responded, and he didn't know why, but he felt both heartache for his unlucky father's experience and a subtle sense of relief...
...
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