Football: Salary System - Chapter 165: Turin and the Golden Boy (Combined) (Patreon)

"That bicycle kick deserves a standing ovation. You could call it one of the greatest goals in Bundesliga history."

As usual, Favre showered Zayn with praise in his post-match interview.

"The heavy snow made everything more difficult, but it also made everything more beautiful."

Unsurprisingly, images of Zayn's bicycle kick in the snow swept across Europe.

Against a curtain of swirling white, the blond teenager hung almost horizontally in midair, his right leg whipping straight toward the sky as the instep of his boot met the dropping ball perfectly.

Behind him, Gladbach center back Beyer stared upward with a blank expression.

The photograph was so visually striking that even someone who never watched football could feel the power and beauty in it.

Naturally, the media piled on the praise.

Zayn's social media following increased by nearly a million overnight.

Countless professional models and influencers also flooded his direct messages across various platforms with all kinds of revealing photos.

That had long since become normal in football circles. Plenty of players had met their model wives or influencer girlfriends through social media in the first place.

Zayn, however, had already become immune to it. He could barely be bothered to look.

As far as he knew, those messages were a complete mixed bag. Alongside women hoping to get rich overnight were plenty of traps.

The moment a famous player replied, blackmail could follow. Pay up, or screenshots of the conversation would be sold to the media.

Jack Grealish had fallen into that kind of mess more than once.

...

On December 22, Bayern Munich salvaged the last of their pride with a 3-0 away win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Bundesliga giants climbed back into second place at the halfway point of the season and at least prevented Dortmund from entering the winter break with a thirteen-point lead.

A ten-point gap was still enormous.

And the dominance Dortmund had shown this season was even more intimidating than the standings suggested.

With Matchday Seventeen complete, German football officially entered its winter break.

The Bundesliga would not resume until January 19, 2019, with Matchday Eighteen.

To make sure they were ready when the league restarted, however, Dortmund's players had to report back to the Brackel Training Center on January 3.

After fitness and physical-performance testing, the squad would fly to Marbella in southern Spain for a two-week winter training camp.

In reality, that meant only the next twelve days of the "Christmas and New Year holiday" truly belonged to the players.

Compared with the Premier League's brutal festive schedule, though, even twelve days felt luxurious.

Most of the older players with families went straight home to spend a peaceful holiday with their wives and children.

The younger players had half a season's salary sitting in their accounts and money to burn.

Many of them planned to fly somewhere warm, such as Dubai or Madeira, spend a few days in the sun, have some fun, then hurry home to reunite with their parents.

Zayn did neither.

He did not fly back to Birmingham, nor did he join Sancho and the others on an island getaway.

On the very first day of the holiday, he flew instead to a cold and snowy Turin.

...

After crossing the Alps, the plane began to descend.

The old capital of Savoy slowly emerged through the winter haze.

Raiola had arranged every detail of Zayn's trip. The agent had spent years building his business in Italy, and his network there ran deep.

Even though the direct flight from Dortmund to Turin took little more than an hour, Raiola had still booked first class and arranged a complete VIP arrival service at Turin-Caselle Airport.

The purser practically served him on one knee throughout the flight. After landing, staff were waiting at the jet bridge to escort him through a private route and around the crowds.

A round figure stood out immediately at the exit.

Raiola, dressed in a black cashmere overcoat, opened his arms wide.

"Welcome to Italy!"

He pulled Zayn into a crushing hug, squeezing so hard that Zayn nearly disappeared into the expensive coat.

"All right, all right, Mino. I can barely breathe."

Raiola finally released him with a booming laugh, took half a step back, and looked him up and down. His face almost folded in on itself from smiling.

He clearly could not have been in a better mood.

Zayn's first half-season at Dortmund had been practically perfect. If nothing else, advertisers waving enormous checks were already lining up for the privilege of working with him.

The two walked outside together, where the car Raiola had arranged was waiting.

Snow was falling over Turin as they pulled out of the parking lot. In the distance, even the Mole Antonelliana had acquired a thin white coating.

Raiola glanced out the window and curled his lip.

"I still don't understand why Tuttosport insists on holding this ceremony in December. Don't they know Italians only want to be in Sicily soaking up the sun in winter?"

The reason Zayn had come to Turin was the Golden Boy awards ceremony hosted by Tuttosport that evening.

Since the award was created in 2003, it had been regarded as the highest individual honor for young players in European football.

In the minds of many supporters, it still carried more prestige than the newly created Kopa Trophy. The Golden Boy was often described as a prodigy's coming-of-age ceremony.

Zayn could not relate to Raiola's complaints about the weather at all.

It was his first time in Turin, and he thought the snow-covered city looked excellent with the Alps faintly visible in the distance.

The car passed through central Turin before stopping outside an unremarkable restaurant.

"Lunch first. I'll let you try some real Turin food. It'll be a hundred times better than that breakfast you made," Raiola said.

The portly agent was clearly still holding a grudge over the healthy German-style breakfast he had eaten at Zayn's house.

Zayn smiled and did not argue.

The restaurant looked small from the outside, but there was much more to it once they stepped through the door.

Raiola was obviously a regular. He led Zayn straight to a private room at the back.

A tall young man was already seated inside.

Like Zayn, he wore his blond hair short and neat. He had strong features, broad shoulders, and a powerful build.

It was Erik ten Hag's prized young defender and Ajax captain, Matthijs de Ligt.

When Zayn entered, the Dutch center back stood and gave him a slightly shy smile.

"Zayn, finally. That bicycle kick two days ago was... unbelievable."

"Thanks. You've been excellent for Ajax in the Champions League too," Zayn replied politely.

In his previous life, Zayn had followed De Ligt for a while.

It was De Ligt who had won the 2018 Golden Boy.

He had broken the award's long domination by midfielders and forwards, becoming the first defender to win it since its creation.

Unfortunately, after leaving Ajax, injuries had followed him throughout his career. It sometimes seemed as though he had hurt every part of his body.

Back, ankles, knees, calves, thighs, groin, shoulder...

Even more areas than Zayn had Injury Resistance bonuses for.

More unfortunately for De Ligt, with Zayn around this time, he might have to wait until next year to set that particular Golden Boy record.

Raiola, who had been smiling throughout their exchange, looked even happier as he watched the two shake hands and chat.

The Italian agent had always treated the players he represented like family. He loved using his network to create opportunities for his clients to become friends with one another.

There were plenty of examples. Zlatan Ibrahimović and Paul Pogba. Ibrahimović and Erling Haaland. Gianluigi Donnarumma and Haaland.

All of them got along very well.

Ibrahimović and Haaland in particular had plenty of interactions, two superstar strikers who even shared the same preference for long hair.

Once the three sat down, Raiola snapped his fingers and the waiter began bringing out the food.

Just as he had promised, it was thoroughly local.

The first course was a traditional Piedmontese platter featuring several regional classics.

There was salad, vitello tonnato, Fassona beef tartare, and tomino cheese with green sauce.

Then came a classic Piedmontese filled pasta, small pinched squares stuffed with roast meat and served with butter and sauce.

The aroma alone was enough to make anyone hungry.

Next came beef slowly braised in Barolo wine. The deep red sauce had reduced until thick and glossy, while the meat fell apart at the touch of a fork and practically melted in the mouth.

Dessert was a classic Piedmontese chocolate-and-almond pudding.

Wine and chocolate were both specialties Turin took great pride in.

Zayn finished the meal thoroughly satisfied.

Raiola's figure did not lie. He knew where to eat.

Zayn set down his fork and teased him.

"Before I came, I thought I'd finally get to try a pizza you made yourself, Mino."

Raiola nearly choked.

He waved both hands. "I may have grown up in a pizzeria and worked there, but I was basically a waiter. I've never made a single pizza in my life. I don't even know how."

Then he cursed, "Damn Mihajlović!"

The widespread story that Raiola had once been a "pizza chef" actually came from former Inter player Siniša Mihajlović.

Back when Ibrahimović was still playing for Milan, he and Mihajlović had started trading insults in the tunnel after a Milan derby.

Raiola overheard them and stepped in to join Ibrahimović against Mihajlović.

Mihajlović shut him down with one line.

"What's this pizza chef doing here?"

The nickname spread around the world afterward.

Raiola cursed Mihajlović now, but there was no anger on his face. He clearly did not care much about it.

...

After lunch, the three returned to the hotel Raiola had booked.

Zayn took a short nap, showered, then changed into another suit prepared for him by Louis Vuitton.

That evening, the trio arrived at the Tuttosport awards ceremony.

Compared with the Ballon d'Or ceremony earlier that month, the Golden Boy presentation was extremely simple.

Aside from the newly added Golden Girl award, there was nothing else to present.

At this point, the women's award was positioned as a domestic Italian honor, recognizing the country's best U21 female player.

This year's winner was Benedetta Glionna of Juventus Women.

The Italian, one year older than Zayn, barely took her eyes off him throughout the ceremony. Even while walking onto the stage to receive her own award, she kept glancing his way.

Zayn completely ignored the obvious flirting.

He preferred the delicate, soft-spoken type.

Yes. That was definitely the reason, and not because he thought she looked fairly ordinary.

There were none of the Ballon d'Or's tribute segments or drawn-out buildup.

Once the women's award had been presented, the ceremony moved directly to the main event of the night.

The Golden Boy.

In truth, there was almost no suspense in this year's vote.

The only player who might genuinely have threatened Zayn was Kylian Mbappé, but Mbappé had already won the Golden Boy the previous year.

Although he remained on the wider shortlist this year, the journalists would not vote for him again. That had been an unwritten convention around the award for years.

Tuttosport's original idea was to introduce a new young face to supporters every year.

That left only De Ligt and Trent Alexander-Arnold as Zayn's meaningful rivals.

Neither posed much of a threat to him.

There was no surprise when the name "Zayn Ryder" was announced.

The entire room rose and applauded.

Zayn walked onto the stage and accepted the trophy.

There were no major industry figures, no legendary superstars, and no fierce rival waiting in the audience.

He had no reason to make another provocative speech. After offering a few simple words of thanks, he turned and stepped off the stage.

Back in his seat, Zayn turned the Golden Boy trophy over in his hands.

Its design resembled the Ballon d'Or. Both were golden footballs made up of geometric panels, but this trophy had cleaner lines and was noticeably smaller.

A golden ball and a Golden Boy.

The sight suddenly made him think of the long-discussed "Golden Boy curse."

The award was celebrated as a coming-of-age ceremony for prodigies, yet looking back years later, it often seemed more like a monument to wasted promise.

Pogba, Pato, Anderson, Balotelli, Götze, Sanches...

One player after another had been hailed as a future Ballon d'Or winner when he lifted the Golden Boy trophy.

Very few ultimately fulfilled all that promise. Some faded into mediocrity frighteningly early.

Early brilliance did not guarantee greatness as an adult.

Young stars were handed enormous responsibility while they were still effectively apprentices. Before they had even turned twenty, fame and money had already arrived together.

That made it extremely difficult for them to deal with the reckless judgments of the media and fans who often knew little about what was actually happening.

At the same time, the temptations and pressure brought by money and status never stopped testing them.

By the time a young player finally paid the price for those lessons, his talent might already have been squandered.

Before Zayn's rebirth, twenty-two players had won the Golden Boy.

Of those twenty-two, only eight had ever won the Champions League.

Only Lionel Messi had gone on to win the Ballon d'Or.

Zayn looked at his own name engraved on the base of the trophy and felt something stir inside him.

Of course he believed he could break the curse.

For so many prodigies, the Golden Boy had become the beginning of the end.

For him, it was only the ticket through the door.

...

After the ceremony, Zayn, De Ligt, and Raiola took another photograph together with the trophy.

Raiola smiled until his eyes once again narrowed into slits.

De Ligt was returning to Leiderdorp that same night. For the Dutchman, Christmas Day belonged to family.

The Eredivisie also had a winter break, nearly a month long just like the Bundesliga's.

In fact, most European leagues paused between Christmas and New Year. The exact length varied, but the break gave players a chance to reunite with their families.

England was the deranged exception.

Among Europe's top five leagues, only the Premier League kept playing through this period.

The Boxing Day schedule in particular had inspired generations of players and coaches to curse the FA.

After seeing De Ligt off, Zayn and Raiola returned to the hotel.

Zayn would remain in Turin for one more day.

In fact, the Golden Boy was not the only reason he had come.

There was also Angelina Danilova.