Weird Defender Joo Ji-Tae

122 – Hugucelona

122

From the late 2000s to the mid-2010s, Barcelona, along with Real Madrid, dominated the football world, enjoying a glorious golden era. However, they suddenly collapsed like a ghost.

It was as if they had used up all their luck during their prime, and various misfortunes poured in. Among them, the worst was undoubtedly Bartomeu.

If we had to choose the worst front office executive in football history, it would be Bartomeu, the president of Barcelona, who was also known as the X-man of Real Madrid.

His achievements were a grand, incompetent transfer saga. He had signed Paulinho from China for 40M euros, only to sell him after one season, making a profit from the transfer fee difference.

It was ridiculous, and his incompetence was unparalleled. He had invested a massive amount of money, only to reap a miserable harvest.

The main characters were the renowned Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, and Philippe Coutinho, who had cost a total of over 4 billion euros, equivalent to 6000 billion won.

The result was a complete failure, with players like Denis Suarez, Gerard Deulofeu, Lucas Digne, Malcolm, Yerry Mina, Paco Alcacer, Andre Gomes, and Arda Turan being mere additions.

It was as if his eyes were not functioning properly, and his sense of judgment was at an all-time low. If he had stopped there, he would have been remembered as a mere failure. But he went further.

Bartomeu’s infamous reputation did not stem from his transfer failures alone.

He had worsened relationships between clubs with his stubborn negotiation style, attracted criticism with his strange media play, and even faced lawsuits for manipulating public opinion and engaging in illegal backroom deals.

He had taken inspiration from the previous president’s negotiation tactics during the Neymar transfer saga and had employed similar secret tactics during the signings of Antoine Griezmann, Lucas Lima, Paulinho, and others, making illegal contact with clubs before reaching an agreement.

As a result, he faced lawsuits, and his negotiation style was notorious.

To make matters worse, his negotiation tactics during the transfer process were embarrassing. He had shown a ridiculous, unwavering attitude, saying things like “This is our final offer” and then changing his mind, only to be rejected.

He had even added ridiculous conditions, such as winning the Ballon d’Or and the Champions League, to the transfer fee, which was to be paid in installments over five years, earning him criticism and ridicule.

Tottenham’s Daniel Levy was infamous for his stingy negotiation style, but compared to Bartomeu, he was a mere amateur.

Even in front of Bartomeu’s lofty dignity, Daniel Levy would have bowed his head, but even that was not enough to become a JOAT (Jack-of-All-Trades).

There was Juan Gaspart in Barcelona’s history, who sent legend Luis Figo to Real Madrid and released Rivaldo on a free transfer, causing the team to plummet to 12th place in the league. And there was Sandro Rosell, who was involved in the Neymar scandal and even got imprisoned, but still had an aura of grandeur.

It’s indeed different when you have a deep-rooted history as a club.

Even if reality is harsh, people can endure if they have a bright future to look forward to.

One must not lose hope for the future, but Bartomeu was not an ordinary person. He sold the future to get to where he is today.

It’s not that he didn’t make mistakes. He literally sold the future to get to where he is today.

With the team already in shambles, Bartomeu sold the team’s future, including Arthur Melo, Coutinho, and others, when the main players were already in their 30s and needed rebuilding. And to top it off, he even sold the living legend, Messi, which was the final nail in the coffin.

It’s truly a Barcelona… no, a football history-worthy level of grandeur.

After Bartomeu, who was like Real Madrid’s X-man, Barcelona’s board of directors gradually improved, but only until the 30/31 season.

It seems like Barcelona’s board of directors gets sick if they don’t make mistakes periodically, but in reality, it’s all about politics.

As the world’s first cooperative club, Barcelona holds elections through the “socio” system, and the board of directors who achieved the miraculous Champions League victory in the 30/31 season planned to solidify their re-election by… signing a big-name player.

As expected, the board of directors, who were notorious for their poor signings, carried out a big signing, and the results were disastrous.

The money was spent, and the squad was in shambles, and after four years of chaos, the team finally got their act together around the 34/35 season.

It was a relief that Juzi Tai joined the team at that point.

In reality, it was a result of desperately trying to sign David Martinez last season.

To convince AT Madrid, who had declared NFS (Not For Sale), they gathered funds and cleaned up the squad as much as possible.

The 1.1 billion euros they gathered ultimately got rejected, and the transfer deal fell through, but the saved money ended up being used for Juzi Tai’s transfer fee, which was a sort of happy ending.

However, for those in charge of the club’s finances, it was a disaster.

That’s why, from the moment he signed the contract, Juzi Tai was warned by the Barcelona side.

“Juzi Tai, you know that the contract details are absolutely confidential. If it gets leaked, it’ll be a big deal… you know what I mean?”

Juzi Tai nodded his head firmly, looking at the contract, under the desperate gaze of financial director Antoni Pruna.

Yeah, I won’t go around talking about this. If this gets out, it’ll be a huge mess.

For Barcelona, the 125 million euro transfer fee was not the only problem.

The transfer fee was enormous, but for those in charge of finances, the bigger problem was the contract conditions.

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Contract Period: 2034.07.19 ~ 2039.07.30 (5 years)

Guaranteed Annual Salary: 130 million euros (after-tax, with the club handling taxes)

Bonuses and Incentives:

—Appearance Fee:

+Starting Fee: 80,000 euros

+Substitute Fee: 40,000 euros

—Attack Points: 220,000 euros for every 10 points

—Clean Sheet Bonus: 100,000 euros

—Win Bonus: 50,000 euros

—Championship Bonus (varies depending on performance):

+League Championship Bonus: 2 million euros

+Champions League Championship Bonus: 4 million euros

—Achieve 30 games played in the first division and receive a 1 million euro bonus

—Play 25 games for the national team and receive a 1 million euro bonus

—Become a Ballon d’Or candidate (top 23) and receive a 1 million euro bonus

ㄴIf selected for the Ballon d’Or podium, receive an additional 1 million euro bonus

ㄴIf awarded the Ballon d’Or, receive an additional 2 million euro bonus

—If no transfer occurs within the next 3 years, receive 15 million euros

—If transferred, receive 15% of the transfer fee

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It’s truly a ridiculous contract.

Although the annual salary is meager, if calculated weekly, it’s 250,000 euros, which is over 3.5 billion won. That’s 3.5 billion won just for doing nothing every week.

The key point is the “tax benefits.”

Europe has high tax rates for high-income earners, but this contract resolves that issue, so in reality, the salary is more than doubled.

However, compared to all the options and incentives, this is just a small part.

The enormous bonuses are ridiculous, and the options are outrageous. I accepted them anyway. Is this crazy?

Especially the conditions, such as receiving 15 million euros if no transfer occurs within 3 years or receiving 15% of the transfer fee, are unbelievable.

Literally, if I endure for 3 years and receive 15 million euros, and then get transferred, what will I do? Then I’ll receive an additional 15% of the transfer fee. This is truly an absurd condition.

“I’ll just wait for 3 years and receive 15 million euros, and then get transferred. Even then, there will be 2 years left on my contract, so the transfer fee will be substantial.”

By the way, didn’t I just receive 25% of the transfer fee, which is 312.5 million euros, or around 400 billion won, through the “25% transfer fee” option when I re-signed with Munich?

“…It’s still unbelievable. The contract conditions are like daylight robbery.”

Joo Ji-tae, who felt happy, suddenly felt a surge of motivation.

“I may not have broken the record for the highest transfer fee, but I’ll become the best signing.”

“Ooh… I believe you, Joo Ji-tae!!”

Unfortunately, the current record for the highest transfer fee is the 1.42 billion euros Liverpool paid for Philippe Coutinho.

Since I couldn’t become the top signing, maybe I’ll become the top transfer? Who… is the top transfer? Ah, it’s Neymar. The amount is… 2.22 billion euros?

Joo Ji-tae thought to himself.

“Money isn’t everything.”