The 16th round of the league is over and the La Liga winter break begins.
In the new season of La Liga, the biggest surprise is the strong rise of the Spaniard.
From 11th place last season to fourth place in the league now, a strong contender for the Champions League spot.
The Spaniard cannot yet threaten the top three positions in the Western Premier League, but they already have the ability to disrupt the situation.
The Spanish staged a fairy tale in which an ugly duckling turned into a black swan.
The initiator is naturally Star Entertainment Company from China and its boss Chen Yansheng.
Without Chinese capital, Espanyol would still be the same relegation team that has never won a championship or participated in the Champions League.
However, the vast majority of fans and many reporters believe that the direct cause of the Spaniard's rise is the joining of Zhao Yang and Asensio.
Scored 16 goals in 16 league rounds, scored 3 goals in two rounds of the King's Cup, and had 7 assists.
Zhao Yang, from La Liga C, leads the La Liga scorer list, beating out superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, and Suarez.
Before the start of the season, this was something even the most daring Espanyol fans could not have dreamed of.
As a midfield organizer, Asensio's number of goals is a bit low, only 5, but 8 assists have also made Asensio one of the top midfielders in La Liga.
In the new season, the Spaniard lost three of its absolute main players. It was the crazy performance of Zhao Yang and Asensio that brought the Spaniard, who was determined to be relegated before the game, to the top four position.
Needless to say, Asensio is from Real Madrid and is just a trial in Spain.
Such Zhao Yang's annual salary is only a mere 200,000 euros, and there is no liquidated damages.
Naturally, the sudden emergence of Zhao Yang became the target of major clubs competing to woo him during the winter break.
This kind of wooing has actually happened earlier, but not long after the league started, no one knew whether Zhao Yang's performance was short-lived, and the major clubs were not enthusiastic.
Now after 16 rounds, Zhao Yang is as strong as ever and is even getting better. All the scouts believe that a superstar is rising.
At this time, almost all major clubs were bombarding Zhao Yang's agent with phone calls.
After the game against Las Palmas, the Espanyol team had a collective meal and then took a holiday.
After a week of double matches, Zhao Yang, who was physically and mentally exhausted, planned to sleep until he woke up naturally the next day, then buy some gifts and return home.
However, I only slept until 9 o'clock when my agent Martinez knocked on the door.
When I woke up and opened the door, I found Zhen Li was there.
Zhao Yang quickly buttoned up his pajamas and let the two of them into the living room.
"What's wrong? You're here so early to disturb your dreams."
Zhao Yang obviously didn't get enough sleep, and he sounded like he was waking up when he spoke.
Zhen Li pointed to her watch and said, "What time is it? Let me clear my dreams."
Martinez said: "Mr. Zhao, I came here today to tell you the good news. Both Nike and Adidas have increased their endorsement fees."
"How much higher?"
Zhao Yang is not surprised by this. With his recent hot performance, as long as Nike and Adidas are not blind, raising prices is inevitable.
Martinez said: "Five million euros in five years."
Zhao Yang frowned and said, "I said I would sign for three years."
Martinez smiled apologetically and said: "I understand, so I talked to them. Adidas is still considering it, but Nike agreed to your conditions, three million euros in three years."
After Zhen Li translated Martinez's words, she said, "Zhao Yang, this condition is pretty good. Newcomers generally can't get this price."
Zhao Yang is also satisfied with the price.
When he was a fan, Zhao Yang also understood the endorsement fees of players. He knew that for a newcomer like him who had just debuted, it was really good to get such a price. Even a star like Pogba only paid 4 million euros per year.
If you want to get higher endorsement fees, you need to perform more consistently and more brilliantly, and you also need to obtain some hard honors.
Zhao Yang smiled and said: "Mr. Martinez has worked hard, and the price is acceptable."
Martinez was overjoyed. Although this young talent had just debuted, he was difficult to maintain. He was very picky about endorsement contracts and did not make any money. So he had not yet signed an endorsement deal, leaving the potential new star who is popular in Europe to sign.
Not signing a contract puts Martinez under a lot of pressure.
Now that I'm relieved this time, it's probably easier to sign future endorsement contracts.
"Okay, I'll send a reply to Nike and see when you are free to finalize the contract."
Zhao Yang said: "I'm going back to China tomorrow. Let's sign the contract when I come back."
Martinez said: "Okay."
At this time, Zhao Yang's stomach growled twice. Zhen Li heard it and said, "Martinez, Zhao Yang hasn't eaten yet. You talk to him first, and I'll get him something to eat."
Zhao Yang said: "Don't bother, I can still hold on."
Martinez hurriedly said: "How can that be done? Nutrition must keep up. Miss Zhen Li, it is still difficult for me and Mr. Zhao to communicate. I'd better go buy it."
Zhen Li was not polite and said: "Okay, then thank you for your hard work, Mr. Martinez."
After Martinez went out, Zhao Yang said to Zhen Li: "I have to take you with me every time we talk about things. Why don't you become my manager?"
Zhen Li smiled and said: "I want to be one too, but I don't understand the business."
Zhao Yang said: "You can learn if you don't understand. You can make a lot more money as an agent than as a translator."
What Zhao Yang said is true. Just like this contract with Nike, the agency will have a commission of 10%, which is one million euros.
If Zhen Li becomes this agent, the 10% will be hers.
What's more, Zhao Yang has a bright future now. He will definitely have more endorsement contracts and higher transfer fees in the future. Thinking of this, Zhen Li couldn't help but feel excited.
"Zhao Yang, I take it seriously." Zhen Li said.
Zhao Yang said: "My contract with this company has expired. If you get the broker's certificate, I will let you be my broker."
Zhen Li nodded seriously and said, "Okay, I'll give it a try."
Zhao Yang had a conversation with Zhen Li, and Martinez came back with breakfast, a glass of milk, two eggs, and a sandwich.
While Zhao Yang was eating, he listened to Martinez talk about renewing his contract with Espanyol Club.
It has been a long time since the Espanyol team started contract renewal negotiations. During this period, with Zhao Yang's performance, the Spaniards continued to improve Zhao Yang's salary. By the end of the 16th league round, the Spaniards finally made up their mind to double Zhao Yang's annual salary.
10 times, two million euros a year, this annual salary ranks third in the Espanyol team. In addition, the goal award, winning award, and assist award have also been greatly increased.
However, considering Zhao Yang's potential, the Spaniards offered a liquidated damages of 50 million euros.
Zhao Yang is very satisfied with this annual salary. After all, Espanyol is a small club and cannot be compared with giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona. Zhao Yang is still a newcomer, so this annual salary is acceptable.
However, Zhao Yang still told Martinez that the contract would not be extended and would still be for three years.
Although Martinez didn't quite understand why Zhao Yang liked to sign short-term contracts, he still agreed. As long as this guy is willing to sign, everything will be fine.