On his second day back in Wolfsburg, Leon Vance finished his recovery training and was tracking toward the treatment room for a deep tissue massage to flush his muscles.
Before he could reach the door, he found his path blocked.
Maximilian Arnold stood directly ahead, while Luiz Gustavo anchored the space behind him, cutting off his exit route.
Arnold looked visibly self-conscious, scratching the back of his head before clearing his throat to speak.
“Leon, do you have any free windows to grab some dinner this evening?” “Tonight?” Leon asked, shifting his kit bag.
“That’s remarkably short notice, Max.
If the tactical review doesn’t run late, I might clear my schedule, but what’s driving the urgency?” It felt slightly unpolished.
Standard locker room etiquette dictated extending an invitation at least forty-eight hours in advance—much like how Leon had planned his own winter holiday gathering for the squad well ahead of time rather than dropping it on them mid-week.
“Let me clarify the situation,” Gustavo interrupted, finding Arnold’s hesitation highly amusing.
“It isn’t actually Max’s dinner initiative.
Our representative wants to get you at a table.” “Your representative?” “Correct,” Gustavo explained, stepping closer.
“Max and I are both contracted with Mondial Sports Management, the largest corporate agency operating inside Germany.
We share the identical lead agent.” “He reached out to us directly, requesting that we facilitate a quiet introduction over dinner.” Gustavo reached into his training jacket, pulling out two embossed cards.
“Look, there’s zero institutional obligation here, Leon.
We’ve delivered the pitch, so our hands are clean.
If you decline the meeting, simply use this contact number to notify him beforehand so he can cancel the reservation.” It quickly became apparent that Arnold and Gustavo were not the only players executing corporate briefs.
Within the hour, several other senior players approached Leon with similar intent.
The movement had been triggered when Leon’s father, Arthur Vance, had approached Mondial’s main corporate offices in Frankfurt for a preliminary legal consultation.
Arthur had subtly indicated that their family was currently evaluating long-term representation options for his son.
The disclosure had caused an immediate stir within the agency’s executive suites.
The primary question circulating among continental scouts was obvious: who occupied the slot of the most valuable uncontracted prospect in the Bundesliga?
The answer required zero debate.
It was Leon Vance.
The secondary evaluation followed naturally: did Leon possess the structural parameters of a future global superstar?
Anyone who had analyzed his spatial execution against Bayern Munich or his balance under contact at the BayArena could deliver the diagnosis.
Barring major physical trauma, the teenager possessed a clear Ballon d’Or developmental ceiling.
To have the family of such an exceptional prospect independently walk into an agency office to request formal advice was a commercial anomaly.
Even an established multi-national firm like Mondial rarely encountered a scenario where the ultimate target initiated the contact.
Constantin Dumitrascu, the managing director of Mondial and a dominant figure across German football operations, happened to be at the corporate headquarters overseeing a standard roster audit.
The moment the reception staff flagged the name on the ledger, Dumitrascu dropped his corporate schedule and walked directly into the VIP boardroom to greet Arthur Vance.
The director spent two hours providing an exhaustive breakdown of modern contract management, registration protections, and commercial scaling, before personally volunteering to assume the role of Leon’s dedicated representative.
At that exact moment, Leon had been finishing his brace against Leverkusen, completely unaware of the board’s reaction.
While the individual agents within Mondial understood that their managing director had already initiated a direct channel, that didn’t prevent them from attempting to leverage their own rostered players to establish a personal relationship with the forward.
Securing even an indirect connection with a future star was worth the internal political risk.
The corporate pressure extended beyond Mondial.
Sports Total, another massive domestic agency, corporate representatives linked to Fali Ramadani—who managed Perisic—and Dutch corporate scouts introduced through Dost’s networks all mobilized within forty-eight hours.
These were the elite tier-one operations across Europe.
Even Kevin De Bruyne eventually approached Leon’s locker, quietly sliding his representative’s corporate profile into his training kit.
By the time the afternoon media duties wrapped up, Leon was holding a substantial stack of corporate business cards, finally managing to escape his highly enthusiastic teammates.
Over the subsequent days, Leon balanced his intensive tactical drills with structured, brief introductory meetings with various directors from the elite agencies.
He deliberately bypassed the secondary Mondial representatives, knowing that their managing director had already established a formalized timeline with his father.
The sudden influx of corporate appointments completely consumed his free windows, forcing him to defer his planned family holiday celebration to a later point in the winter break.
The schedule moved rapidly toward the eve of their Europa League knockout match against Sporting CP.
Following the final tactical walkthrough, all players named to Hecking’s eighteen-man matchday squad were required to check into the designated team hotel overnight to maintain strict nutritional and rest protocols.
As the squad concluded their evening meal in the private dining room, a middle-aged man clad in a tailored black overcoat detached himself from the lounge area, moving directly toward Leon’s table.
“My apologies, Leon,” the man spoke, his tone warm as he extended a hand.
“Standard protocol dictates a far more structured environment for an initial meeting, but I simply preferred to avoid the delay.
You may address me as Jorge.
The timing is somewhat abrupt, but the performance data left me with very little patience.” Leon looked at the face, recognizing the prominent outline of Jorge Mendes immediately.
He masked his surprise well, rising from his chair to accept the handshake cleanly.
“Mr.
Mendes,” Leon replied, keeping his voice level.
“The inclusion is unexpected.
I didn’t anticipate seeing you in Wolfsburg before a European tie.” “There is zero necessity for formalities, Leon,” Mendes said with a smooth smile.
“Simply Jorge.
If your evening schedule allows, I would be highly appreciative of ten minutes over a coffee downstairs.” “Of course, Jorge.
Let me notify the technical staff before we exit the dining room.” Given that the players had cleared their dietary requirements and entered their scheduled free hour before curfew, Hecking offered zero objection when Leon flagged the meeting at the door.
The two moved to a quiet, isolated booth inside the hotel’s lower conservatory, spending the next hour engaged in a highly detailed tactical and financial analysis.
Mendes outlined Leon’s projected market path across the next three seasons, the precise management of his image rights, and the structural metrics that would determine any eventual transfer considerations.
As a premier powerbroker in the international market, Mendes’ insights provided Leon with an exceptional look into the inner mechanisms of elite global football—realities he had never fully accessed during his past career.
“The technical suggestions are highly valuable, Jorge,” Leon acknowledged as the meeting concluded.
“I appreciate the clarity.” “This is merely the foundational summary, Leon,” Mendes replied, his expression entirely focused.
“My intent is to secure your representation because, in my professional estimation, your physical parameters and spatial intelligence match the exact trajectory I observed in Cristiano during his development.” The sincerity was visible.
While every corporate director Leon had met over the week had displayed immense enthusiasm, Mendes carried the weight of a proven track record that completely altered the significance of the evaluation.
“I respect the perspective, Jorge,” Leon answered calmly.
“If your agency can compile a comprehensive, long-term developmental blueprint, my family will evaluate it alongside our legal counsel.” Mendes’ smile returned, sharp and entirely satisfied.
“The strategy documents will be finalized before the weekend.
I will remain in Wolfsburg for the match tomorrow to oversee the parameters myself.”