He wondered if Zhou Yi would become another one of those so-called geniuses who seemed to have unlimited potential but whose star faded early.

Nike and Adidas weren't sure, but there was definitely a significant risk.

Therefore, the conditions they offered Zhou Yi weren't as enthusiastic, or rather, didn't quite align with Schulze's assessment of Zhou Yi.

Schulze's current assessment of Zhou Yi was that he was a reserve world-class midfielder, and that he would definitely become a world-class midfielder in the future, even one of the top players in the world. However, Nike and Adidas, with their extensive experience, probably saw Zhou Yi as just a potentially talented, average genius. The only added bonus might be that Zhou Yi was Chinese and had the support of the Chinese market behind him.

But considering the current image of Chinese football, the huge Chinese market probably couldn't provide much support for Zhou Yi.

Back in 2008, Adidas and Nike had even fought a lawsuit to compete for Zheng Zhi, who was then the number one star in the national team.

But after that, they certainly wouldn't do such a stupid thing again.

So for Zhou Yi, for a Chinese football player, whether he could really bring huge benefits to their respective brands, the seasoned giants had to appear calm and reserved.

In this regard, Puma, a relatively smaller brand, was much more aggressive and enthusiastic.

Whether it was various hard numerical indicators or various promotion and publicity strategies, the conditions they offered were more appealing to Schulze and Zhou Yi than those of Nike and Adidas.

To put it bluntly, these things showed sincerity.

How could there be sincerity if the price wasn't high?

Although Nike and Adidas enjoyed great prestige worldwide, they might not necessarily be able to crush Puma in the field of football.

Schulze and Zhou Yi carefully analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of choosing each of the three companies.

It was actually the same as when a player chooses which team to transfer to: do you choose to go to a powerhouse club or a mid-table team?

Most people would choose a powerhouse without hesitation, and among the remaining people, most would choose a powerhouse after hesitating.

Very few people actually choose a mid-table team.

Unless there was no choice, if a powerhouse extended an invitation, few people could resist, even if they knew there were many problems going to a powerhouse, they might not be able to play as a starter, and the pressure would be much greater than in a mid-table team. None of these considerations could dispel the players' thoughts of going to a powerhouse.

Because it was related to vanity, and also related to money.

Being able to go to a powerhouse naturally meant being a powerhouse-level player, even if it was as a substitute.

In a powerhouse, one could also get a lot of exposure opportunities, which would greatly increase one's commercial value and lead to more endorsement opportunities… Of course, those powerhouses that wanted to take back players' image rights were an exception.

Therefore, powerhouses had an unparalleled attraction for players, which was why when clubs like Real Madrid bought Sahin, Sahin would say, amidst the boos of Borussia Dortmund fans, that he couldn't refuse the call of Real Madrid. Although playing for Borussia Dortmund was his dream, the call of a powerhouse was clearly something more advanced than a dream.

This situation not only happened to Sahin, but also to many other professional players. It was even the driving force behind their excellent performances.

There was nothing wrong with that. Water flows downwards, and people strive upwards.

In the end, it was actually a matter of personal choice. Since it was one's own choice, one would definitely think it through before making the choice, and after thinking it through, one should be responsible for one's choice.

Moreover, everyone has different values. Some people just think that being a substitute in a powerhouse like Real Madrid is pretty good, at least they earn more money and can enjoy vanity.

But some people choose to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix.

Zhou Yi's philosophy when choosing a team was this.

Otherwise, why wouldn't he have accepted the invitations from Barcelona and Arsenal back then?

No matter what, Arsenal and Barcelona were stronger than Borussia Dortmund at the time, whether in terms of reputation or first-team results.

Especially Barcelona, their youth training was world-renowned, and countless football-loving teenagers were proud to be able to enter La Masia.

When this opportunity was placed in front of Zhou Yi, he firmly rejected it.

Why?

Because Zhou Yi was very clear about what he wanted. What he wanted was not the vanity of joining a powerhouse, but the most favorable choice for his career. Borussia Dortmund, who was willing to promise him first-team opportunities, was obviously the most correct choice. The subsequent series of experiences also proved that Zhou Yi's initial choice was correct.

Sometimes, when people are at a crossroads in life, they are easily attracted by the beautiful scenery in the distance and impulsively choose that direction. But when they finally reach the scenery, they find that it is just a huge outdoor billboard. Attracting your attention is the purpose of these billboards, but the price you pay for this on this road is not something they consider or are responsible for.

The future of another road seems not so bright, somewhat dim, but if you persevere, you will gain some real things and see real beauty.

Just like when he chose which team's youth training to go to, Zhou Yi is now facing a choice again.

Nike and Adidas, or Puma?

Although the conditions offered by Nike and Adidas were not as good as Schulze had expected, they were not low either. For ordinary people, they could be regarded as sky-high prices. Even higher than Zheng Zhi's endorsement fee.

But apart from money, they did not give a very detailed and convincing image building plan in other aspects.

On the contrary, Puma not only offered more money, but also had a very sincere plan to build Zhou Yi's image.

For Zhou Yi, choosing Puma had one advantage, that is, Puma had far fewer endorsed stars than Nike and Adidas. What was the advantage of this? This meant that Puma could invest more resources in Zhou Yi alone, unlike Nike and Adidas, who had too many players under their banner. Unless you become the top player, you won't be able to enjoy too many resources before that.

But Puma was different, because there was only one current leading endorser for Puma, and that was Henry. Moreover, Henry was old and had just gone to the American Major League to play, having already left the mainstream view of European football.

Zhou Yi's appearance could quickly fill the vacancy they had in Europe. Puma promised Zhou Yi that as long as he signed, he would become the number one endorser for their company.

This was in line with Schulze's positioning of Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi would use Puma's influence and resources in the world sports brand to quickly become a world-class player—in terms of advertising image, this was the case.

So after analyzing it this way, there was no suspense about which one Zhou Yi would choose in the end.

Puma.

Now all the negotiations with Puma were over, and all that was left was to sign the final contract.

※※※

Next, Zhou Yi would sign these three contracts.

The most important ones were the contract renewal with Borussia Dortmund and the sponsorship contract with Puma.

Schulze also reminded Zhou Yi that in addition to signing the contracts, he also needed to continue the driving school lessons that had been interrupted due to special training.

After all, the German driving test was very strict, very difficult, and had a limited number of attempts. After exceeding a certain number of attempts, you would not be allowed to take the test.

Therefore, you must study well enough before taking the test, otherwise you would waste an opportunity if you failed once.

Zhou Yi originally wanted to agree, but he suddenly thought that the new season's training camp would start in a few days. At that time, he would probably have to go to other places with the team for training, and he would not be able to learn to drive for at least a month.

In that case, even if he took the time to learn to drive these few days, it would be meaningless.

He understood why some professional players drove without a license, especially young players. When they had enough money to buy a good car, they might not have had time to get a driver's license. So they would always be itching to drive the car after buying it back, and people with a slightly worse sense of morality would drive without a license…

Zhou Yi didn't intend to drive without a license, but he wasn't very urgent about getting a driver's license now. Compared to learning to drive, football itself was more important.

So he said to Schulze, "Let's put the driving lessons on hold for now… The training camp is about to start."

Schulze also felt that Zhou Yi had too many things to do recently, so he shouldn't add to the workload.

So he nodded, "Okay, you're very busy these days anyway…"

"I know, Tino. Anyway, I didn't prepare to rest, ha!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Zhou Yi…"

"Cough, why are we saying these things? Isn't it all for money? What's hard work when you can earn money!" Zhou Yi smiled happily.

Yes, when you can earn money, you're happy even if you're a little tired.

※※※

After Zhou Yi had no problems with the contract, Schulze quickly negotiated the specific signing time with Borussia Dortmund.

The club hoped to finalize this matter before the team reported on July 6.

So the signing time must be before this.

Finally, the two parties agreed to hold a signing ceremony on July 3.

This signing ceremony would be much grander than the first professional contract Zhou Yi signed with the club.

At least there would be reporters present.

On July 3, Zhou Yi, accompanied by his agent Schulze, appeared in the office of club CEO Zorc.

Zorc was very happy that Zhou Yi was able to finally choose to renew his contract with the club. He told Zhou Yi that the club had high expectations for him.

Zhou Yi smiled on his face and did not appear very excited, perhaps because he felt that this was a matter of course.

After a brief conversation, the two parties came out of the office and went to the room where the contract was to be signed. There, there were already about twenty reporters waiting.

Half of them were Chinese reporters.

Then, facing the reporters, the two sat down, picked up their pens, and signed their names on their respective contracts. Zhou Yi still used the Montblanc pen that Licken had given him at the beginning.

In fact, from the moment they appeared in front of everyone, the reporters' fingers on the shutter had not been released. The room was filled with the constant sound of shutters, and the flashes had already made the original lighting in the room pale in comparison.

After the signing was completed, Zorc told the reporters that Zhou Yi's contract renewal was a very important matter for the club.

"Borussia Dortmund is a team that is good at cultivating and using young players. I am very happy that Zhou Yi has continued this tradition. His outstanding performance last season proves that his future is very promising. We are very happy to be able to continue to move forward with him." Zorc said with a smile, looking at Zhou Yi for a while and then at the reporters.

It was Zhou Yi's turn to speak. He said, "I am very happy to be able to renew my contract with Borussia Dortmund. This is a very important thing for me. I hope that I can continue to perform well after renewing my contract."

He spoke very plainly, without any lofty ambitions.

This was also in line with Zhou Yi's character. He was not the kind of person who was good at making some inspiring remarks in front of the media.

However, what he did on the field always made people excited.

Finally, the two exchanged contracts and smiled at the camera, allowing the reporters to take this photo.

Zhou Yi's contract renewal was settled, and Klopp and Zorc could finally breathe a sigh of relief.