Chapter 334 Not a Penny Less

In the end, Borussia Dortmund defeated Hamburg 3:1 at home without much effort. The feeling was that Dortmund had been in control all along, and even though Hamburg once pulled back a goal, it couldn't shake the foundation of Dortmund's victory.

After the match, Zhou Yi became the focus of reporters' interviews. Of course, this wasn't just because he had two assists in the game, helping the team beat their opponents 3:1. Perhaps it was more than that.

Everyone wanted to hear his views on those transfer rumors.

"...I understand that some media outlets want to create big news when they have nothing to do, which is why there are those transfer rumors. But what I want to say is that not a word of those things about me is true. I will not leave Borussia Dortmund."

Zhou Yi said decisively.

Other players also expressed their willingness for Zhou Yi to stay.

Shinji Kagawa, who scored after returning from injury, thanked Zhou Yi again when interviewed by reporters.

"...If I had to say who is indispensable to Borussia Dortmund, it would only be Zhou-san. He is the center and source of strength for all of us. I know that many teams in Europe want to get him now, but I believe he will stay at Borussia Dortmund."

Marko Vagner, who also benefited from Zhou Yi, was even more exaggerated: "Unless the club is crazy, they won't let Zhou Yi leave! We are all very happy to be able to play with Zhou Yi."

Robert Lewandowski said: "I don't know what the future holds, but right now I don't see any signs of Zhou Yi leaving the team..."

Kevin Großkreutz said: "Zhou Yi is a child from the Südtribüne (South Stand), how could he leave Westfalenstadion so easily?"

※※※

After the game, Zhou Yi called his agent, Schulze: "Tino, what's going on with the media?"

"Uh, Zhou Yi, I promise I didn't do this..." Schulze quickly defended himself.

"I know you didn't do it. My new contract with the club is almost negotiated, so there's no need to play this game. But why are there still so many rumors in the media about me leaving Borussia Dortmund?"

"Maybe... the foreign media really think you will leave Borussia Dortmund and go to a big club?" Schulze guessed.

"Based on what?"

"They think Borussia Dortmund can't keep talent. Borussia Dortmund does have a precedent in this regard. Nuri Şahin left just one season ago, didn't he?"

"Then I don't need to transfer after only playing for Borussia Dortmund for a little over a season... I haven't even learned to drive in Germany yet!"

"You're missing the point, Zhou Yi, you can rely on an EU-recognized driver's license to go to the UK or any other country."

"Oh, oh, is that so? Then should I go to another country to get a driver's license?"

"If you get a driver's license in the UK, I believe the media will really believe that you are going to transfer to an English club, Zhou Yi."

"Tsk, why do the media love to speculate so much?"

"If the media didn't speculate, they wouldn't be the media."

"Okay, it looks like I still have to find time to get a driver's license..."

The topic went from transfers to driver's licenses... Neither of them felt that there was anything wrong with it. Where exactly did it start to go off-topic? Never mind.

※※※

The second round of the league took place a week later, with Borussia Dortmund challenging Hoffenheim away.

This time, Borussia Dortmund lost to Hoffenheim 0:1 away, which seemed to confirm the media's analysis of the difficulty for Borussia Dortmund to defend their title.

Although losing the game was an unhappy thing, Borussia Dortmund fans didn't care too much about the loss because they had something to make them happy—just two days after the game against Hoffenheim, Borussia Dortmund officially announced that Zhou Yi had re-signed a new contract with the club.

And on the official website, they published a photo of Zhou Yi and club general manager Zorc holding the contract together.

As soon as this news came out, all the rumors about Zhou Yi transferring away from Borussia Dortmund disappeared as if they had never existed.

The person has renewed the contract with the club, so it is definitely impossible to leave this summer, so what is there to spread? Spreading it will only make people laugh.

Regarding this contract, the official information revealed was not much. Everyone only knows that the end time of the contract is the same as the previous contract. In other words, the previous contract was for six years, and the new contract is for five years.

With the contract period shortened by one year, the salary must be increased, otherwise there is no need to renew the contract.

In fact, this renewal was not proposed by the player's side, but was initiated by Borussia Dortmund, just like the renewal last season.

Why did Borussia Dortmund start renewal negotiations again?

It's related to the buyout clause.

They felt that a 10 million buyout clause was too low.

A year ago, Borussia Dortmund still felt that a 10 million buyout clause was enough. This 10 million was only obtained after Borussia Dortmund and Schulze had been fighting for a long time.

Now, looking at Zhou Yi's performance in the Champions League and the league, there is no so-called "rookie wall" at all. Looking at the coveting of Zhou Yi by other wealthy clubs, Borussia Dortmund felt the pressure.

Although the buyout clause can only be activated when there is only one year left in the contract, if Zhou Yi never re-signs with the club, this 10 million will not be considered money in a few years. At that time, with Zhou Yi's performance, selling him for 10 million would be a huge loss!

Therefore, Borussia Dortmund hopes to increase the amount of the buyout clause.

Since Borussia Dortmund Club is asking for help, Zhou Yi can naturally boldly put forward their requests.

The request is actually very simple: the buyout clause can be increased, but Zhou Yi's annual salary must be increased accordingly.

With the gradual improvement of Borussia Dortmund's financial situation, a pre-tax annual salary of 1.5 million euros is really too low for Zhou Yi.

According to Schulze, if Zhou Yi is willing to jump ship, he can easily go to a big team and get more than twice or three times his current salary. But Zhou Yi is still willing to sit down and negotiate with the club, which shows that he has feelings for Borussia Dortmund. If there are no special circumstances, he is still willing to stay in this team.

Then, considering Zhou Yi's loyalty, should the club also express something?

When Klopp was interviewed, he said that the player's contract renewal with the club went smoothly, but this was not the case. Klopp knew the inside story, but he couldn't directly tell the media that "we have some trouble with the player's contract renewal", right? Wouldn't that be adding fuel to the fire of Zhou Yi's transfer rumors?

Klopp knew what the trouble was, Zhou Yi also knew, and the club also knew.

The trouble is just one word - "money."

Schulze believes that based on Zhou Yi's performance and contribution to the team, he should receive the club's top salary, 4.5 million euros before tax.

But Borussia Dortmund Club disagreed. They felt that if Zhou Yi took the top salary at such a young age, what would happen later? You must know that he just renewed his contract with the club last season, and his salary increased tenfold, but at least the base salary of his first contract was very low, so it was okay. After one season, he signed another contract, and his salary increased threefold again. What about next season? Even if the base of 4.5 million is doubled, it will be 9 million!

How could Borussia Dortmund afford it?

And after Zhou Yi set this precedent, what would other players think?

They might think that Zhou Yi's 4.5 million top salary is normal, so it is also normal for them to ask for a salary of 4 million, right?

What Borussia Dortmund Club is most worried about is this collective effect.

If everyone rushes to ask for a salary increase, the club's financial situation may fall into crisis again soon after it has just improved.

The club refused Schulze's top salary request based on these considerations.

In fact, Schulze also knew that the club would definitely not agree. He made this request just to ask for the sky-high price and then settle for the lower price on the ground.

The two sides bargained bit by bit.

Schulze once again proved his talent and ability in this regard. Zorc also didn't expect that he would have to face this damn agent again in less than a year after the renewal, but there was nothing he could do. Who told them that the buyout clause was set too low in the first place?

So this time Borussia Dortmund wanted to set a high buyout clause. They also asked for an exorbitant price as soon as they came up, asking for a buyout clause of 50 million, and Schulze directly asked Zorc at the negotiating table: "Are you crazy?"

If Schulze really agreed to a 50 million buyout clause, Zhou Yi would probably fire him when he came back...

The two sides kept grinding and grinding. Grinding the amount of the buyout clause and grinding the annual salary.

They are all issues related to money.

Finally, after a few months of grinding, the two sides finally reached an agreement.

In terms of the buyout clause, Schulze agreed to cap it at 30 million euros, and this clause can only be activated in the last year.

And in terms of annual salary, Borussia Dortmund also gave in and agreed to Schulze's request for an annual salary of 3 million euros.

Because it is before tax, the money that Zhou Yi actually receives is only 1.6 million.

Zorc believes that after this contract is signed, he should not have to see Schulze's annoying face for at least the next two years.

"I don't want to see Zorc's face again either. Negotiating with him is too painful. He is simply the real-life version of Grandet!" Schulze complained to Zhou Yi. "Borussia Dortmund won the league title and reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season. Logically speaking, they didn't make less money, so why are they still so stingy?"

"They are used to being stingy." Zhou Yi didn't care much. It would be good if the contract renewal could be negotiated.

After renewing his contract with the club, all the transfer rumors about him disappeared, and he could finally focus on football itself without being disturbed by the outside world.