Chapter 101: Professional Player Ronaldinho
After speaking with Piri, José dismissed the thought of immediately talking to Ronaldinho. True, everyone needed to decompress, especially with Christmas coming up. There was no need to burden Ronaldinho with a conversation that could ruin his holiday. José also needed a break. He planned to spend Christmas with his father and take some time for himself—to relieve the stress. While the games were important, it was equally essential not to fixate on them every day.
José's father, old Alemani, was thrilled that his son would spend Christmas with him. Ever since José moved out at eighteen, though they'd shared several Christmases together, in recent years it had become rare. José was either busy studying coaching courses or working as a coach for the youth or senior team. His father hardly saw him anymore—José was always busy with club affairs, more so than Alemani himself, who was the president.
Seeing his father so happy, José felt a little guilty. Even though José's soul had no connection to Alemani, this body belonged to the Alemani family. José had avoided these matters before, but now that he had "reincarnated" and replaced the previous José, he realized that he had inherited his responsibilities. So, for the next few days, José fulfilled his duties as a son, ensuring his father was in high spirits. He found that it wasn't as hard as he expected—children in Europe were no different from those in China. As long as they spent time with their parents and had a little chat, their parents were happy.
However, what José and his father talked about most was club matters. There was a significant difference here compared to Chinese families. If a Chinese father saw his son, at twenty-six, still single with no sign of a girlfriend, he would likely start arranging blind dates for him. But European fathers were not so concerned. As long as Alemani knew his son's sexual orientation was normal, that was enough.
The father and son mainly discussed club matters. The Mallorca club's finances were stable. Despite not having European competition revenue this season, expenses had also decreased. José had signed a few players, but apart from Ronaldinho and Eto'o, others had lower wages. Moreover, the club had trimmed its roster, further reducing salary expenditures. According to Alemani, there wouldn't be a financial deficit this season.
Hearing this, José relaxed. After all, Mallorca's finances had always been healthy. The deficit last season was due to the assumption that income from the Champions League would cover the gap. With that not happening, the club had spent a lot on player transfers and salary increases, which led to the deficit. This season, without European competition, they had been more cautious. Alemani's claim that there wouldn't be a financial deficit made sense, especially since the club hadn't qualified for European competitions this year. If they could reach the top four, even two Champions League qualifiers would bring substantial revenue.
After enjoying a relaxing Christmas with his father, José got back to work, feeling good about it. Of course, the team wasn't gathering just yet, but the only issue left for José to address was Ronaldinho.
While José valued players like Eto'o and others as important future contributors, Ronaldinho was different. He was seen as the core player. José was very clear on this. Eto'o and the others were main players with well-defined roles—they could perform well as long as they played in their positions. Ronaldinho, on the other hand, was to be the focal point of the team.
On December 26th, just one day before the team gathered, José arrived early at the training base to handle some matters. Though Mallorca had a mild climate year-round, the days around Christmas were still cold. José walked through the grass-covered but now withered training ground, feeling the chill in the air. This was rare in Mallorca.