Of course, creating a personal brand isn't as simple as just saying it.
If you want to launch a product like a baseball cap, you must first produce the product and find a suitable production line.
Then comes promotion, shooting commercials, and building a website...
The initial investment of time and money is unpredictable.
Fortunately, Mark had just finalized a contract with Adidas, and with several other brand contracts on the horizon, he had at least five million euros in disposable funds!
As for the personal brand's name and logo, Mark didn't overthink it. He simply used the capitalized initials of his first and last name, ML, as the brand name.
The brand logo, meanwhile, was a lion's head, connecting to his surname, Lein (lion).
Of course, Mark wouldn't just hand over millions of euros to Raiola to squander.
Raiola wouldn't do that either.
A business plan must be formulated, and Mark needs to understand the brand creation process before he agrees to invest funds.
He is the boss; all he needs to do is speak and provide the capital.
As for the rest, he can simply hire employees to get it done!
While Mark was busy meeting with various brand representatives alongside Raiola to finalize contracts (and earn money), at the same time...
Wolfsburg Club Base.
In the director's office, Wolfsburg's Sporting Director Allofs and Head Coach Hecking both looked serious.
"Fifty million euros is too low!"
"Any Champions League team could easily come up with that amount!"
"But if we keep dragging this out, we'll only become more passive!"
"Don't forget, besides Bayern, who has already sent an offer, teams from other Leagues have also expressed strong interest in Mark!"
"Anyway, let's renew Mark's contract now. Then, next year, we'll renew it again and increase the buyout clause."
"That's the only way..."
Mid-July arrived, and the summer transfer window had been open for half a month.
Besides contract negotiations with Mark, the team was also working on new player acquisitions.
With the team finishing third in the Bundesliga last season and securing a Champions League spot, Wolfsburg naturally hoped to make a big splash in the new season!
Therefore, strengthening the team's squad was imperative!
Although they historically achieved third place in the League last season,
all of the team's key players performed exceptionally well.
However, the team still had areas that needed improvement in both offense and defense.
Especially since the team was about to face a dual challenge of the League and the Champions League, personnel reserves had to be strengthened.
In particular, the defensive line needed reinforcement!
Last season, Wolfsburg conceded the most goals among the top six teams!
If it weren't for their fierce attacking power, they wouldn't have secured third place in the League.
Especially last season, the performance of the starting right-back Ochs was simply not good enough.
In clashes against strong opponents, the right flank often became a weakness that opponents exploited to break through the defense.
Although placing Vieirinha at right-back yielded surprisingly good results,
they still needed to find a more reliable natural right-back than Ochs for that position.
After scouting and negotiations, they finalized the acquisition of Sebastian Jung from Frankfurt at the end of May.
Jung has been selected for the German National Team and possesses extensive Bundesliga experience.
Moreover, his assisting ability is outstanding, often making overlapping runs down the flank to deliver precise crosses.
A transfer fee of 2.5 million euros was an absolute steal!
Secondly, as the team's playmaking core, De Bruyne lacked a reliable backup. Last season, Mark sometimes even had to fill in as an attacking midfielder.
Therefore, a rotation option for De Bruyne had to be found for the new season.
Wolfsburg, always keen on making every penny count, set their sights on Werder Bremen's midfield maestro, Hunt.
The Werder Bremen core's contract was nearing its end, and he had already decided not to renew with Werder Bremen.
As a team with Champions League qualification and actively recruiting, Wolfsburg was clearly a very attractive platform.
From several contacts, Hunt was also very willing to join Wolfsburg and participate in the Champions League.
However, some contract details had not yet been finalized.
It's worth mentioning that Hunt hoped to receive the vacant number ten jersey upon joining Wolfsburg.
However, the club had already made the number ten jersey one of the bargaining chips to retain Mark, so they were naturally unwilling to give it to Hunt.
Besides, between 28-year-old Hunt and 18-year-old Mark, it was clear who had more potential and who was more deserving of the number ten jersey... In addition to Hunt, Wolfsburg also hoped to strengthen their attacking and midfield positions.
Due to Olić's age and the team's upcoming multi-front campaign, having only Dost and Olić as strikers was clearly insufficient.
Thus, they also set their sights on Arsenal striker "Lord" Bendtner, whose contract was nearing its end.
They were about to face competition from Premier League teams Hull City and Crystal Palace, as well as Greek Super League champions Olympiacos.
Of course, compared to these mid-to-lower table teams, Wolfsburg, with its title-contending strength in the Bundesliga and Champions League football, clearly had greater appeal.
Besides free transfers, the team also loaned French defensive midfielder Guilavogui from Atlético Madrid and re-signed Polish defensive midfielder Krychowiak, whom they had previously sold to Zwolle in the Dutch League.
Last season, Wolfsburg's starting defensive midfield duo was Gustavo and Arnold, and this won't change in the new season.
Malanda and Träsch performed reasonably well in their limited playing time.
However, in the midfield, more options were needed to be more adaptable when facing different opponents and matches.
Of course, there are ins and outs.
Midfielder Medojević, who did not meet the team's requirements, was sold to Frankfurt, and academy striker Gjergi was sold to Hertha Berlin, along with other players who had no future in the first team, all of whom were cleared out.
From just these two players, they recouped three million euros in transfer fees.
It was like exchanging two fringe players for national team-level full-back Sebastian Jung—an absolute steal!
Of course, for now, Wolfsburg's transfer activities seem to be relatively minor.
Indeed.
This is actually related to Mark.
Before securing the retention of Mark, Wolfsburg's most outstanding academy talent in its history, the club's hierarchy and head coach had no real interest in transfer operations.
However, everyone believed that as long as Mark could be retained and the existing squad strengthened, Wolfsburg would certainly achieve great things in the new season.
Although the club's hierarchy provided a substantial sum of thirty million euros for Allofs and Hecking to conduct transfer operations,
Hecking, with his extensive experience in crisis management, was accustomed to "achieving great things with little money."
In his opinion, the team only needed to strengthen a few key positions.
Then, by streamlining the squad and clearing out some redundant players, it would essentially be a successful transfer window.
And from the current progress of transfers, everything is going very smoothly. Before securing the retention of Mark, Wolfsburg's most outstanding academy talent in its history, the club's hierarchy and head coach had no real interest in transfer operations.
However, everyone believed that as long as Mark could be retained and the existing squad strengthened, Wolfsburg would certainly achieve great things in the new season.
Although the club's hierarchy provided a substantial sum of thirty million euros for Allofs and Hecking to conduct transfer operations,
Hecking, with his extensive experience in crisis management, was accustomed to "achieving great things with little money."
In his opinion, the team only needed to strengthen a few key positions.
Then, by streamlining the squad and clearing out some redundant players, it would essentially be a successful transfer window.
And from the current progress of transfers, everything is going very smoothly...
...
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