Football: Salary System - Chapter 161: Pepe and the Draw (Patreon)

After saying goodbye to Mendes, Pepe walked alone through the streets of Istanbul at night.

The Ritz-Carlton wasn't far from the house he was renting, so he had come on foot.

As he walked, Pepe thought about all the different options his super-agent had rattled off for his future.

None of them really appealed to him.

Sign one final "big contract," collect the money, and retire?

Pepe certainly didn't think he was that old yet!

He hadn't left Madrid because his level had declined. He'd left because that bald Frenchman thought he was too old!

So when Mendes repeatedly brought up offers from Asian clubs and "retirement contracts," Pepe had actually started to get annoyed.

He understood that Mendes meant well, but Pepe believed he still had plenty left in the tank.

At the very least, he could still play at the highest level in Europe for another two years, all the way through Euro 2020.

So he couldn't simply find somewhere comfortable to wind down his career.

He needed to remain on a stage important enough for Portugal head coach Fernando Santos to keep watching him.

The Premier League certainly qualified, but England's weather was simply too harsh on his family.

His wife, Ana, had already been through enough, taking their two children from Spain to Turkey as she followed him throughout his career. Pepe didn't want to make them adjust all over again to Britain's cold, damp climate.

Maybe it was time to go back to Portugal.

In fact, before meeting Mendes today, Pepe had already decided that he wanted to return to his roots.

Both of Pepe's parents were Brazilian, and he himself had been born and raised in Brazil.

Even the nickname "Pepe" had been given to him by his father after José Macia, the Santos player known as Pepe who had been Pelé's teammate.

But Pepe hadn't stood out much in Brazil's youth system and never earned the chance to play on a bigger stage.

It wasn't until he was 18 that Portuguese club Marítimo noticed him. He traveled alone to Portugal to play football, and that was where he eventually made a name for himself in Europe.

There was even a story from that first arrival in Portugal about the penniless Pepe and a loaf of bread at the airport.

That was why Pepe had ultimately chosen to represent Portugal, and why he had developed such a deep attachment to the country.

Now, he intended to return to the club that had truly launched him into European football.

Porto.

As thoughts continued to race through his mind, his phone rang.

Raphael Guerreiro.

Pepe was slightly surprised.

The two had been teammates with Portugal for years and had a good relationship, but Guerreiro wasn't exactly the type to call just to catch up.

Then Pepe remembered that Mendes had met with someone from Dortmund earlier that day.

He understood immediately.

"Good evening. I hope I'm not bothering you?"

"Of course not, Raphael. You've caught me at a good time."

Guerreiro laughed on the other end of the line, sounding a little embarrassed.

"Looks like you've already figured it out."

"Haha. Was it really that difficult? So you're the one who recommended me to Dortmund."

"Uh... actually, it wasn't me."

There was something slightly awkward in Guerreiro's voice.

"To be honest, I'd definitely like to keep playing alongside you, but I was thinking about the national team. The idea of us playing together at club level never even crossed my mind."

Now Pepe was genuinely surprised.

"Oh? Dortmund's scouts have started looking at old men now?"

"No, no. Actually, it was Zayn Ryder."

"Who? You're saying he recommended me?"

"Don't tell me you don't know the hottest young player in Europe!"

"Of course I know him. But Raphael, we've never even met!"

"Yeah, I know. But he told the coaching staff he'd watched footage of your matches from the past year, both for your club and the national team.

"And right now, our defense needs an experienced veteran who can organize everyone."

For a moment, Pepe didn't know what to say.

After spending more than a year playing in Turkey, he knew perfectly well how little attention the league received internationally.

Outside of Turkey, there probably weren't many people who could even name more than five clubs in the league.

Years later, when Mourinho was managing Fenerbahçe, he would bluntly say, "I don't think many people abroad watch this league. In London, only my son watches the Turkish league. Nobody else."

Pepe himself certainly wouldn't have watched Turkish football when he was 18!

Yet this kid playing right at the heart of European football had actually been watching his matches?

Pepe was briefly at a loss.

Guerreiro wasn't exactly experienced at persuading people, so before Pepe could fully sort through his thoughts, he continued.

"Pepe, if you come here, I really think we could lift another trophy together, just like in 2016. Maybe more than one."

It was already a cold December night, but Guerreiro's words still made Pepe think back to that summer in France.

"...Let me think about it, Raphael."

"All right. I'll wait to hear from you."

As the winter break drew closer, the days seemed to pass as if someone had hit fast-forward.

On December 15, Dortmund hosted Werder Bremen in Matchday 15 of the Bundesliga.

In the 63rd minute, Zayn delivered a precise cross for Reus to score, helping Dortmund secure another three points with a 2-1 victory.

After the match, Dortmund had amassed 43 points from 15 games, opening up a massive 13-point lead at the top of the table.

They had also secured the unofficial Bundesliga winter championship with two matches to spare.

...

December 17.

The draw for the 2018-19 Champions League Round of 16 was held at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The rules were the same as always.

The eight group winners were seeded, while the eight runners-up were unseeded. Clubs from the same national association couldn't face each other, nor could teams that had already met in the same group.

As Group A winners, Dortmund would have the advantage of playing the first leg away and the second leg at home.

And the draw unfolded exactly as Zayn remembered.

Dortmund would face Tottenham Hotspur!

Almost the instant the matchup was revealed, headlines began flooding the major media outlets.

"Battle of England's Golden Boys!"

"Z&K Showdown!"

There was no way the media were going to let a storyline like this go to waste.

They intended to hype it all winter.

Aside from that matchup, which immediately sent Britain into a frenzy, Manchester City drew Schalke 04, while Liverpool were paired with Bayern Munich.

Three Premier League clubs and three Bundesliga clubs would face each other head-to-head in the Champions League Round of 16, something that had never happened before in the competition's knockout-stage history.

The remaining English club, Manchester United, were drawn against Paris Saint-Germain, who had fought their way out of the Group of Death.

Although the Ligue 1 giants had struggled at times during the group stage, Mourinho was already on the verge of being sacked, and few outsiders believed Manchester United could stop Paris from advancing.

After all, Neymar, Mbappé, and Cavani had already combined for 43 goals that season, while Manchester United had arguably one of the worst defenses among Europe's elite clubs.

By comparison, the three Spanish giants were widely seen as having received more favorable draws.

Barcelona drew Lyon.

Atlético Madrid would face Juventus. Cristiano Ronaldo had only recently returned to Old Trafford, and now he would be heading back to Madrid.

Defending champions Real Madrid, meanwhile, were paired with Ten Hag's Ajax.

The final matchup was between Portuguese powerhouse Porto and Italian veteran Roma.

While the entire football world focused on the Champions League Round of 16 draw, Zorc, still in Turkey, finally managed to bypass Jorge Mendes and meet Pepe in person.