THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Zachary didn't dilly-dally in the slightest after completing his gym session with Coach Bjørn Peters. He washed up quickly in the dressing room and then donned a new tracksuit before heading to Trondheim Torg for his meeting with Emily.

His R8 GT barely stayed below the speed limit as he traversed the streets of Trondheim. He made it to Cafe Dublin, the agreed-upon rendezvous point, in less than twenty minutes.

Emily Anderson, his agent, was already waiting for him on one of the tables in a far-off corner. She was dressed casually in denim-jean trousers and a stylish dark brown leather jacket. She looked poised like the subject of a piece of art, awaiting his arrival in the slightly crowded Cafe Dublin.

"Good afternoon, Emily," Zachary greeted as soon as he'd settled in one of the seats opposite hers. "I hope you didn't wait for long!"

"Not at all," she replied, lifting her head to glance at Zachary. "I only arrived a few minutes ago. So, no worries."

"That's great, then," Zachary said. "I was worried I'd made you wait. How is your day going? Are you enjoying your stay in Trondheim?"

"My day is fine," she replied, the corners of her mouth rising slightly into a smile. "Whenever I'm here, it feels like I'm on vacation. I'm enjoying every moment. How about you? How goes your preparation for the upcoming Europa League match?"

Zachary took off his baseball cap before answering, "We'll start the preparations for that game tomorrow. Today, we had a day off to recover from yesterday's match. I've been doing some personal training since morning. I've just concluded a training session with my new fitness coach, and it was quite rewarding."

"That's great to hear," Emily said, nodding. "Let's hope he can help you meet all your training targets before the beginning of next season. Should we first order lunch before moving on to business?"

"That would be best," Zachary was quick to reply. "I'm quite hungry since I've been training all day. I would rather refuel first with some food in my belly before discussing any business."

"Okay, then," Emily concurred, raising her arm to signal for the waiter.

A few seconds later, a tall blonde gentleman dressed in a neat Cafe Dublin's waiter's uniform arrived beside their table. "Good afternoon, sir and madam!" He said, bowing politely with a smile. "How may I serve you today?"

"I'll have the Eggs & Bacon served with chips and salad," Emily replied right after taking a glance at the menu. "Top that up with a glass of lemon juice."

"Is that all?" the waiter queried, noting down the order.

"That's all for me," Emily answered.

"And you, sir?" The waiter turned towards Zachary. "What will you be having?"

"Get me a Ribburger served with fried potatoes, plus some chicken salad," Zachary said while still studying the menu. "Get me some lemon juice as well."

"Noted," the waiter replied with a smile. "Your orders will be coming up shortly, in about twenty minutes. Thank you for supporting Cafe Dublin." He stepped away from the table and headed back to the counter.

Cafe Dublin's service was excellent that day. The costumed waiter managed to work on their orders in the promised twenty minutes. Soon, the two of them were feasting on their lunch while making small talk. They concentrated on enjoying the meal and didn't discuss any business until a quarter of an hour later.

"So, how far with the negotiations with the Rosenborg management," Zachary asked after finishing his fried potatoes. He'd already wolfed down his entire meal. Only empty plates remained on the table before him. "Is there any progress? Or are they still insisting on the contract extension?"

Emily sighed, placing down her glass of lemon juice. "I've just finished meeting both the sporting director and the legal advisor this morning. They've finally backed down slightly and promised to offer you much better personal terms if you can extend your contract with Rosenborg for one year — that's until 2015."

"Ohhh!" Zachary said, his pair of eyes going somewhat blank. He couldn't help but fall deep into thought.

Emily had started negotiating a new Rosenborg contract on his behalf in August. However, the negotiations had stalled when he'd gotten injured in the Europa League match against FK Minsk. Despite that, Emily had persisted and continued pushing for a wage increment for him throughout his two-month hiatus. She'd held several meetings with the club management to make her case, citing his role on the first team before his injury.

Her efforts had eventually paid off a couple of weeks prior, and the Rosenborg officials were finally not totally opposed to the idea of offering him better personal terms. However, they had still insisted that he extend his contract with Rosenborg for two years before they could triple his monthly income. It seemed they had finally relaxed their terms slightly that morning and were only asking him to sign a one-year contract extension that time round. Be that as it may, he was still undecided.

"What's your opinion on their new contract offer?" Zachary asked Emily after a few seconds of deliberation. "Should we take the deal or not?"

Emily's blue eyes lit up after she heard the question. She held Zachary's gaze from across the table before answering, "In my opinion, we should take the deal. They have already offered to triple your monthly income from 400K to 1.2 million NOK — while also offering you plenty of other match bonuses. And the only price you have to pay is signing a one-year contract extension with Rosenborg. So, why not take the deal?"

"I can also see that it's quite a good deal," Zachary replied, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "The 1.2 million and the other benefits are quite tempting. However, my only worry is that this contract extension will tie me to Rosenborg for an extra year after my current contract expires. For me, this is not worth it since I would like to move to greener pastures in about six to twelve months from now."

"Is that so?" Emily's eyes widened for a moment. She quickly placed her glass of juice on the table before glancing squarely at Zachary. "Do you intend to transfer out of Rosenborg in the near future? Please elaborate!"

"The answer is yes," Zachary replied emphatically. "I'll begin considering the possibility of transferring out of Rosenborg around next June. By then, my skills should have improved considerably. So, I'll have the necessary capital to play and hold my own against world-class opponents in the top European leagues."

"I'm glad you're finally considering this possibility," Emily said, her face blooming into a smile. "I totally support this decision since I believe you should begin competing against the best footballers in the world as soon as possible. You'll improve your skills much faster by facing off against fierce competitors. On the other hand, your skills will regress if you remain in your comfort zone and get too used to the glory of dominating the third-tier Norwegian League."

"Then, we are of the same mind." Zachary smiled boyishly, crinkling his eyes. "So, you should be able to see my concerns. This contract extension may cause me trouble if I attempt to transfer out of Rosenborg next year. That's why I'm hesitant to sign it."

"You don't have to worry about the extension binding you to Rosenborg for two more years," Emily said, also leaning forward and lowering her voice. "One: Your contract has a release clause of 50 million Euros embedded in one of the terms. As long as any other team triggers this release clause by making an offer of 50 million, they'll have basically freed you from Rosenborg. But, that's as long as you're willing to join the club that triggers the release clause."

"Two," Emily continued in a steady but calm voice. "Your contract also has a buy-out clause of 24 Million embedded in one of the terms. As long as any club triggers this buy-out clause by making an offer of 24 million to Rosenborg, they can start negotiating personal terms with you during an active transfer window."

"And lastly, I believe that the Rosenborg higher-ups are not trying to pull any tricks to tie you to their club in the long run with the contract extension. They only want you to sign the extension so that they can obtain more bargaining power while attempting to sell you to other clubs. That's my opinion as an agent after tussling with them through negotiations spanning over two months. So, you can see that signing the extension will not have any marked impact on your future. You should take the deal."

"That puts me at ease," Zachary replied, letting out a breath. "You can go ahead and accept the deal on my behalf as long as you can guarantee that the contract extension won't affect my plans of transferring out of Rosenborg. That's my only condition."

"You don't have to worry, Zachary," Emily said, her voice exuding confidence. "As long as you maintain your form over the next few months, many teams will line up to trigger your release clause during the next transfer window. I guarantee this."

Zachary's eyes brightened as he leaned back into his seat. "That's good," he said. "I was worried that I might have to give up the 1.2 million NOK of monthly wage and other additional bonuses. But with your assurance, it seems I can begin enjoying this money starting next December. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, that should be the case," Emily admitted. "The contract documents are almost ready. We were only waiting for your decision. So, you can put pen on paper at the end of this week and begin enjoying the 1.2 million NOK at the start of next December."

"That's awesome," Zachary answered. "I'll leave everything to you. Go ahead and finalize the contract details. You can contact me for my signature when you're ready."

"No problem." Emily nodded, picking up her lemon juice once again. "So, have you already started considering which league you would want to join after completing your spell at Rosenborg?"

"I haven't given it much thought," Zachary replied, planting his elbows on the table. "But if I were to be totally honest with myself, then I would prefer to join either the English Premier League or the Italian Serie A. The German Bundesliga would then be my third choice."

"Ohhh," Emily exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Those are some good options. If you don't mind, I can start engaging some of my contacts in those three leagues to prepare for your transfer."

"That's okay with me," Zachary said, smiling. "But please make sure that your actions don't bring me any unwanted disruptions to my career. That's my only request."

"No problem," Emily promised.

**** ****