[MC actually hates China Football, so there is no content related to china. No dragging of plot there. Don't worry guys.]
In a café near Milanello, a heavyset man and a lean man were sitting together over coffee.
The heavyset man was naturally Raiola.
The lean man was Mendes.
Mendes was not actually lean, though it would be fair to say his physique was extremely well managed.
"I didn't expect that we'd both have our eye on the same player at the same time."
The two of them were the most renowned agents in the business, but each had their own distinct approach when it came to signing players, and their rosters rarely overlapped.
Neither of them would stoop to fighting over a player.
At their level, a player simply was not worth that.
"Breaking the Serie A clean sheet record."
"And winning the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year."
"And on top of that, he's a player from the East."
"I'm genuinely interested."
Mendes said with a calm smile.
The East.
The national team there was a shambles at present, but the passion of the fans was extraordinary.
The scale of investment had been enough to bring Lippi to the East.
That was a commercial opportunity Mendes had immediately recognised.
In Leon's previous life, Mendes had indeed managed to get his foothold in Eastern football.
First he brokered Scolari's move there to succeed the Lippi and Cannavaro era.
Then he brought Quaresma over for a staggering transfer fee.
He had wielded enormous influence.
In this life, none of that had happened yet.
But Mendes had already developed a keen interest in Eastern football.
Leon was the perfect way in.
"As it happens, I have to have Leon. There's no other outcome for me."
"I know him. He may be from the East, but he was once a homeless orphan drifting around Spain."
"I know exactly what he needs most."
"And I can deliver the greatest financial returns he'll ever find."
Raiola said it all with quiet composure.
"Then let's see how it plays out."
Mendes did not prolong the conversation with Raiola.
Raiola gave an indifferent shrug.
When it came to influence over Serie A, Raiola was in a completely different league from Mendes.
It was no exaggeration to say that the rise and fall of Serie A's big three, Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan, all had Raiola's fingerprints on them.
At the turn of the century, Raiola had brought Nedvěd, Ibrahimovic, and Emerson to Juventus one after another, helping to build them into league champions.
Then Ibrahimovic moved to Inter, bringing them the league title as well.
Then, as the AC Milan dynasty began to crumble, Raiola engineered Ibrahimovic's move to AC Milan.
That brought AC Milan one final Serie A title before the fall.
Whoever had Ibrahimovic won the league.
It had practically become a law of Serie A.
And just when the Milan clubs thought they had finally broken free of Raiola's grip, Raiola extended his reach to Balotelli, and now to Leon.
"Leon!"
In the lounge at Milanello, the young players were larking about when they suddenly heard head coach Inzaghi's voice at the door.
"Boss?"
Leon had not expected Inzaghi to show up at this point.
The squad was already on holiday, and apart from Leon doing his regular training, Milanello was rarely occupied by anyone.
Seeing Inzaghi beckon to him, Leon stepped outside.
"Leon! It's time to sort out the agent situation."
Inzaghi looked at Leon, who had gradually grown into a genuine Serie A star, and felt a deep sense of admiration.
Leon was still on three thousand a week and did not even have an agent.
This summer, Milan needed to sit down with Leon and sign a new contract.
'An agent.'
Leon had of course given it thought.
But if he was being straight with himself, he had absolutely no way of getting in front of any of the big agents.
Even his fans were no help on that front.
Agents from the East had no foothold here either.
"I don't know how to go about finding one."
Leon told him straight.
Leon was still entirely on his own, with no team behind him. Where was he supposed to find an agent?
"Ha!"
Inzaghi nearly burst out laughing.
In that moment he was reminded that Leon was still just an eighteen-year-old kid.
If his own father were not getting on in years, Inzaghi would have happily introduced him to Leon as his agent.
The entire football careers of the Inzaghi brothers had been managed by their father Giancarlo Inzaghi from start to finish.
How many players were lucky enough to have that?
"Raiola and Mendes."
"Go and have a talk with both of them."
"I'll be keeping an eye out. I won't let either of them take you for a ride."
"As for who you choose, that's entirely up to you."
Inzaghi gave Leon a pat on the shoulder.
Leon nodded.
"I didn't expect you to be the one who came out on top."
Mendes had not anticipated that he would be the one to lose out.
"Because I deliver the greatest returns for my players."
Raiola said with a quiet smile.
Watching Mendes leave looking rather put out, Raiola allowed a barely noticeable look of satisfaction to cross his face.
In the café, Leon was working his way through an extremely thick contract.
"Leon, I can arrange a legal adviser for you."
"Or you could have Coach Inzaghi recommend someone."
"They'll go through the contract with you and flag anything that needs attention."
Raiola walked back into the café, and seeing Leon poring over the agent contract, said with a calm smile.
"No need."
"I trust you wouldn't do something that cheap."
Leon picked up the pen and signed his name directly.
The reason he had not chosen Mendes was that Mendes was far too intent on using his identity as an Eastern player to define him.
Mendes had mentioned his connection with Lin Yuan, the head of an Italian financial group of Eastern heritage, and had spoken of engineering a move to Torino for Leon.
A club under an Eastern owner, where Leon as an Eastern player would command greater financial returns and a stronger voice in the dressing room.
Regardless of whether Mendes had Leon's best interests at heart, the idea of someone pushing a transfer move from the very first meeting did not sit well with Leon.
At the very least, for this off-season, Leon could see no reason to leave AC Milan.
Raiola's opening line, on the other hand, had been: "This summer, I'm going to get you six million euros a year."
"Bingo."
Raiola broke into a smile.
Whatever others thought of him, securing the greatest possible returns for his players while protecting his own interests was always Raiola's hallmark.
In most cases, the interests of the agent and the interests of the player were one and the same.
Mendes was somewhat different, placing greater emphasis on maintaining strong relationships with the major clubs.
That meant he would weigh things up from more angles and make more compromises.
And as a natural consequence, the player's interests could never be fully maximised.
Inzaghi was not surprised when he saw Leon had ultimately chosen Raiola, and simply smiled to himself.
Raiola's reputation made his approach plain enough, and Galliani would probably have a headache coming his way.
But then, what did that have to do with Inzaghi?
All Inzaghi needed was for Leon to stay at the club next season and fight alongside him.