A hearty win came to an end, with Millwall accumulating 11 points after five games, qualifying early and securing top spot in the group.

As for who the other opponents in the same group will live and who will die, this is not something Millwall will care about.

The Millwall stars took a curtain call on the court and returned to the dressing room for a short celebration, the smoke of the battle cleared, everyone bathed and changed, but the excitement in their hearts did not subside, and they couldn't sleep even when they returned home, so some players agreed to play two sets of snooker and then go home.

Outside the parking lot, when Xiao Luo drove away, he lowered the window and beckoned to Henry, who was just about to open his car door, laughing and making a provocative gesture of drag racing, Henry smiled helplessly, and had no intention of engaging in this adventurous game with the other party.

When Henry got into the car, his cell phone suddenly rang and he took it out to answer it.

"Thierry, where are you?"

"I'm going to go to a billiards room in the city and play two sets of snooker with my teammates."

"Let's meet now."

"For what?"

"There's something important to talk about."

"Okay."

After noting down the place of the meeting, Henry drove there, and on the way, he seemed preoccupied.

The person who called was his agent.

This is his second agent.

In the summer of '96, the emergence of Henry led France U18 to win the European Championship youth group, which attracted the attention of many European giants at that time, which meant that Henry needed a professional agent to help him plan his career and deal with related affairs, he hired an agent himself, and Real Madrid threw an olive branch to him. It was with this agent hired by Henry himself that the terms of the franchise were negotiated. Just when everything seems to fall into place. Monaco handed a complaint to FIFA, because Henry's agent did not have a FIFA-recognized agent certificate, and at the same time, Monaco did its best to keep Henry, and introduced a professional agent to Henry, FIFA ruled in favor of Monaco, and Henry's agreement with Real Madrid was invalid, so Henry continued to stay in Monaco. He has since been at the service of this new agent as well.

Henry sent a text message to his teammates on the way to meet with his agent, and it seemed that he couldn't go to snooker.

The meeting point with the agent was in a suite in a hotel in the city.

Henry sat opposite his agent.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Talk about your future."

"I don't understand, I'm feeling fine now."

Thierry Henry is going all out for the Premier League Golden Boot, or even the European Golden Boot, while Millwall is defending their league title and the Champions League is in the quarter-finals, what could be more wonderful?

His agent, Si Svenwen, with a solemn expression, said in a deep voice: "I know the truth, Thierry." You're the top scorer in the Premier League right now and you can definitely get a trophy this year as well. But are you satisfied? ”

Henry frowned and asked rhetorically, "What exactly are you questioning?" ”

"Do you still have the ambition to become the world's number one striker? Become one of the greatest strikers in history? ”

"You shouldn't question my aggressiveness."

Henry's expression was slightly unhappy, he was not a child, he didn't need to show his determination to his parents, especially since the other party was just his agent, and he didn't need to prove anything to the other party.

"Then you should die and prove yourself in the First League of the Realm! Become the world's No. 1 striker in the world's No. 1 league! ”

The agent's words struck Henry's heart hard.

He lowered his head and pressed his fingers together against his forehead, and asked in a low voice, "Which club are you trying to persuade me to join?" ”

"Juventus, they showed enough sincerity, but that's not the main reason, think about it, you go to Juventus, you have your national team friend Trezeguet, and Zinedine Zidane, the world champion in the front court, what else can't you do?"

These words are indeed very tempting.

Henry closed his eyes and was silent for a moment before saying: "But I can also get a lot of honors in Millwall, and Millwall's achievements over the years are not lower than Juventus." ”

The agent replied loudly: "You still don't understand? How important are you in Millwall? Larsson is Mr. Golden Ball, Nedved is also Mr. Golden Ball, and Ronaldinho is almost described by the outside world as Hall's half-brother! You? You can only be in their shadow forever! If they value you so much, why have you behaved so well in the past year, but you haven't mentioned anything in a row? You earn as much as Ronaldinho, that Brazilian, but you're the world champion! What does he have? You've scored more than twice as many goals as him! ”

For the club, no matter how beautiful the words are and how good the personal relationship is, even the commitment of the main force is far less profound than the sincerity that money can show.

Henry said with little confidence: "Maybe the boss thinks it's not time yet, it's not time to talk about money, our attention must be on the court." ”

"Don't be stupid, Thierry, I'm telling you, Larson and Nedved, have an annual salary of a million pounds more than you, and a million pounds more than you!"

Henry looked up in surprise and asked, "Really?" ”

The agent nodded solemnly and said, "It's true! ”

He was absolutely not lying about this.

I don't know from which source he learned about Millwall's inside information.

Larsson and Nedved have a higher weekly salary than Thierry Henry, and there will be an additional $1 million this year, which is not only available to both of them, but Southgate also has $1 million, and other players such as Schneider, Materazzi, Makelele and other players also have $800,000.

The bonus did not come by chance, it was not given to the player on a whim by Millwall, but the "loyalty clause" in the player's contract came into effect.

Players who have been with Millwall for five years will have a "loyalty bonus" from the sixth year onwards!

The loyalty clause is not a reward for loyal players, but is directly linked to attendance, for example, the full number of appearances in the season can be paid in full, and the insufficient will be discounted.

Henry's agent did not say anything about the bonus. Didn't point out like Ronaldinho either. Pirlo didn't have the bonus. If its intentions cannot be deeply explored, a positive understanding cannot be discerned.

Millwall's salary structure is not the highest in the Premier League, for example, the highest weekly wage in the Premier League is Manchester United's Roy Keane, who just three months ago signed a contract extension with Manchester United and received a £50,000-a-week salary.

The three captains of Millwall are the highest-paid representatives, with a weekly salary of £40,000.

But if you include the bonus of the "Loyalty Clause". On average, their weekly salary is above £60,000, which is the highest in the Premier League, but bonuses are bonuses after all, and there are uncertainties compared to dead wages.

Thierry Henry's weekly salary is not very high at Millwall, it can only be considered a mid-range, his weekly salary is 25,000 pounds, which is a significant increase from his weekly salary when he played for Monaco two years ago, even if he came to the team at the first price in Millwall's history. But the contract he got at that time was really average, because during the same period, players such as Nedved had different salary increases after winning the Champions League.

Henry's head was a little confused. After being bewitched by the agent, I always feel that my thoughts are flying, and some places feel strange and unreasonable, but I can't find where the unreasonable places are.

If Aldridge had been here, he would have told Henry bluntly: you in the summer of '98, £25,000 a week, what are you not satisfied with? Will you get a raise for a year after coming to the team? Half of last season you were recuperating from injuries, recuperating from injuries!

After Henry left, his agent pulled out his phone and called.

"I've started convincing him."

"How's it going?"

"In the summer, you should move faster, and you should be sure nine times out of ten."

"Then I'll wait for your good news."

"What about my 400,000 pay?"

"As long as he agrees to the transfer, he will transfer it to you on the same day."

"It's a deal."

The football circle has the same characteristics as various small circles in society, full of indiscreet conspiracy, rebellion, bewitchment, betrayal, and choice, even though the story here does not affect the trend of the world, and does not rise to life and death, but the invisible sword and sword shadow, the invisible smoke of gunpowder, still makes this game unable to be pure

In the league at the weekend, Millwall travelled to take on the Black Cats Sunderland.

In the game, Aldridge still used the combination of the substitute backline and the main attacking group.

A game that should have been won was not won due to Thierry Henry's erratic performance, and he wasted at least three great chances.

With seven Premier League games remaining, the gap between Millwall and Manchester United has been reduced to 12 points.

In the dressing room after the game, Henry sat down in his seat after an early shower, his head bowed and his expression very self-reproachful.

What the hell are you thinking?

The midweek conversation with his agent kept lingering in his mind, and it was a serious distraction for him.

"Hey, don't get too entangled in the game, sometimes it's just weird, how to kick, the ball just doesn't go to the door."

Larson patted him on the shoulder as he passed by and smiled and explained.

Gareth Southgate, who did not play and spent 90 minutes on the bench, walked up to Thierry Henry in full gear and asked: "Look at the way you have something on your mind, is it all right?" ”

Henry looked up and said, "No problem. ”

Southgate nodded and asked no more, speculating that it might be Henry's private life.

On the return bus, Aldridge asked Henry to sit next to him, and Jenson found another place to sit down.

Aldridge turned his head to stare at the depressed Henry, and didn't think too much about it, the opponent was rated as Millwall's worst player in the game after the game, giving people the feeling that the contrast was too strong, scoring in the Champions League in midweek, and squandering several golden opportunities in the league at the weekend, this contrast was without warning, and it was also one of Aldrich's biggest fears.

Even if the form of most players declines, it is also sliding down little by little, which can be seen through the specific data on the field, but it is relatively rare for a phenomenon like Henry to have a short time interval and a world of difference.

"Didn't get a good rest before the game?"

Henry shook his head.

"Concealing an injury?"

Henry still shook his head.

"thierry, I don't understand, this season I have maintained an average of at least 4 days to have a game at a density, and it may not be a full 90 minutes per game, your form should be fine recently, but you acted on the pitch today like you can't play, I never think that getting angry at the players will make the players perform immediately and dramatically, my principle is, if there is a problem, then solve the problem, maybe you can't solve it yourself, but we work together and we shouldn't be stumped."

Henry looked at Aldridge and said in a deep voice: "Boss, I'm fine, but I don't feel good today, I promise that the next game will satisfy you." ”

Aldridge stared at him for a long time, and finally nodded: "I don't need your assurance, but I trust you, Thierry, at this moment, the team needs you, what can we gain at the end of the season, the team still needs you, okay, you sit back in your place." ”

Aldrich withdrew his gaze, and Henry stood up and walked towards his seat, Aldrich's words circling in his head.

Team, count on him! (To be continued......)