The joining of Real Madrid made Hoffenheim very nervous, fearing that Lu Wenbin would say something like "It is an honor to be called by Real Madrid" like other players.
Now, Hoffenheim, which has won the Bundesliga and UEFA Cup titles, can be called one of the German giants.
Going one step further, if they win the Champions League, they will be promoted to a top club, a title that even Arsenal have never won.
If we take a step back, the team may fall apart and become ordinary, or even no one will recognize it as an ordinary Bundesliga giant. After all, there is only one Bundesliga champion and the foundation is too poor.
The key figure is Lu Wenbin. If Lu Wenbin stays, other players will stay. Once Lu Wenbin leaves, other players may also transfer and leave.
Under the miracle of the treble, there are many wealthy clubs pursuing Gustavo, Eduardo and Salihovic.
Therefore, under pressure from Real Madrid, Hoffenheim finally gave in and reached an agreement with Mendes on annual salary and penalty clause.
Of course, the most important thing is that Dietmar Hopp is not short of money.
If the club's fame is not taken into account, his net worth of more than $6 billion would be far better than Florentino. But the name of Real Madrid forced Hope to admit defeat and use money to close the gap between the two sides.
Hope, who had always wanted to compete with Inter Milan, finally agreed to Mendes's request for liquidated damages and reached an agreement with Mendes on annual salary, offering a higher price than any other European giants.
After all, Lu Wenbin is too young, and his only achievements are a UEFA Cup and a Bundesliga title. He has no Champions League, no Ballon d'Or, no international player experience, and is somewhat lacking in fame.
Moreover, other wealthy clubs are afraid that Lu Wenbin will only be a flash in the pan, so the issue of annual salary has never reached the psychological bottom line of Mendes and Lu Wenbin.
When Hoffenheim reached the psychological bottom line of Mendes and Lu Wenbin, Lu Wenbin, who had already been inclined to stay, had no objection.
After all conditions were agreed upon, Lu Wenbin, with the help of Fu Qingqing, and Hoffenheim completed the draft contract by fax.
On June 15, Hoffenheim Club announced that they had reached an agreement with Lu Wenbin on contract renewal. The two parties have signed a draft contract and will formally sign the contract after Lu Wenbin returns to Europe.
Next season, Lu Wenbin will continue to stay in Hoffenheim, leading the team to compete in the Bundesliga and overcome difficulties in the UEFA Champions League.
Suddenly, Hoffenheim fans were excited and told each other the news, but Chinese fans were disappointed.
In the eyes of Chinese fans, Hoffenheim Club is still too little known and has a low presence. Everyone still hopes that Lu Wenbin can play for a more famous and wealthy club.
However, now that things have come to this, everyone can only continue to watch Lu Wenbin's performance in Hoffenheim.
If he can lead Hoffenheim to reach new heights, it will be a good story.
Just when Chinese fans and Lu Wenbin's fans were a little disappointed, the contract renewal news revealed by the German media cheered everyone up.
These contracts should have been confidential, but football is never a secret and reporters can always get what they want through various means.
According to German media reports, the two parties signed a four-year contract extension, and Lu Wenbin's penalty clause is as high as 100 million euros, which is higher than Zidane's world No. 1 transfer fee.
Moreover, Lu Wenbin's annual salary after tax reached 6 million euros, surpassing Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni's annual salary after tax of 5.5 million euros, becoming the highest paid in the Bundesliga.
Suddenly, the resentment that Chinese fans had towards Hoffenheim disappeared without a trace, and everyone started a heated discussion about Lu Wenbin's worth and annual salary.
"Oh my god, 100 million euros, 800 million RMB, 666!"
"Oh my god, my glasses fell off, please help me find them!"
"Awesome, 100 million euros, 90 degrees of admiration!"
“Is this the world’s highest net worth?”
"This doesn't count, it's just liquidated damages. It just proves that Lu Wenbin is worth 100 million euros in the eyes of Hoffenheim, but a transaction that didn't happen has no reference value!"
"Yeah, for example, if I put a price of 100 million yuan for the copyright of my novel "Urban Almighty Superstar", but no one buys it, what's the point?"
"Are you still writing novels upstairs? What else do you have besides this one?"
“There’s also a copy of ‘First-class Food’!”
"The guy upstairs is putting up an advertisement. Drag him out and beat him to death!"
"Just kidding, but even if Lu Wenbin's worth doesn't reach 100 million, it's definitely over 50 million euros!"
"That's right. So many wealthy families have offered 50 million to snatch Lu Wenbin!"
"There's not much point in talking about the value of the club. That's a matter between the clubs. Only the annual salary that is received belongs to Lu Wenbin himself!"
"Yes, the highest salary in the Bundesliga, 6 million euros after tax, that's a lot of small change!"
"After tax, his annual salary is 6 million euros, which is equivalent to nearly 50 million yuan. Just based on the annual salary, he will become a billionaire in two years!"
"Add in various appearance fees, goal awards, assist awards, championship bonuses, and commercial endorsements, and you can create a billionaire in a year!"
"It's fine, nothing wrong!"
"Ah, why didn't my parents let me play football, saying it was not a proper job?"
"Get lost! Do you think anyone can become Lu Wenbin?"
…
Originally, after Lu Wenbin returned home for a while, the media had gradually dispersed.
As a result, as soon as the 100 million euro penalty clause and the highest salary in the Bundesliga were announced, countless media outlets flocked to Meitan to interview Lu Wenbin.
Not only that, countless friends, relatives, colleagues, and neighbors also came to watch and educate their children about how promising Lu Wenbin is, with a net worth of over 800 million yuan and the ability to become a billionaire with just one year's salary.
Lu Wenbin can also become “someone else’s child”.
Of course, there are also various social organizations or event organizers who seek sponsorship from Lu Wenbin.
As a last resort, Lu Wenbin had to end his vacation early. After paying a sum of money to his parents to handle the process, Lu Wenbin and Kate left their hometown early and returned to Germany.
On June 20, Hoffenheim held a press conference and a contract renewal signing ceremony for Lu Wenbin. Lu Wenbin and general manager Rothaus officially completed the contract renewal signing under the flashing lights of countless reporters. Lu Wenbin will continue to play in the Bundesliga for Hoffenheim next season.
After the signing was completed, Lu Wenbin stood in the middle, holding the team's No. 9 jersey. General Manager Rothhaus and Chairman Hope stood on both sides, surrounding Lu Wenbin and letting reporters take pictures. It was quite a sight.
In the subsequent media interviews, both sides naturally complimented each other. Hello, I'm good, everyone is good!
After the signing ceremony, Lu Wenbin signed more than 100 autographs for the fans who came to support him outside the press conference hall.
Thousands of fans held banners to express their support for Lu Wenbin and the team's contract renewal.
As long as Lu Wenbin is there, they are confident about the team's future!