Chapter 372: Chapter 83: Advancement! The Shrewd Wang Shuo! Phenomenal Commercial Value! Dortmund Can’t Be Without Wang Shuo Now

But Thomas Essien definitely wouldn’t be able to stay on in his current role.

Wang Shuo’s intention was for Thomas Essien to stay, but with his power diluted, while Wang Shuo himself would build a brand-new, formidable management team.

He was a professional player. Besides training and matches, he simply didn’t have the extra time or energy to handle these matters.

But these things had to be entrusted to someone he could trust.

It was only at this moment that he suddenly understood why so many players chose their relatives to be their agents.

Because it was just too easy for trouble to arise.

One wrong move, a poor judge of character, and you could be sold out without even knowing it.

Make no mistake, some agents really would stir up trouble between players and clubs to profit from the chaos.

Other agents would exploit all sorts of information asymmetry to make a profit.

Wang Shuo considered his options, but there really weren’t any good candidates.

Among all the people he knew, there was no one particularly capable in this area.

After their conversation, Shen Qinghe had actually emerged as a suitable candidate.

Of course, Wang Shuo wouldn’t entrust everything to her.

As the central figure, Wang Shuo would definitely have to personally control the overall situation and make decisions from behind the scenes.

After all, this would involve his future career planning, which was a matter of utmost importance.

The release clause Thomas Essien had recently proposed was a decision made by Wang Shuo in consultation with his lawyer.

But Dortmund didn’t seem willing to accept this clause and had been dragging its feet.

After hearing Wang Shuo’s thoughts on Thomas Essien, Shen Qinghe’s opinion of him rose even higher.

At least Wang Shuo still remembered the help Thomas Essien had given him years ago.

’Such loyalty and integrity!’

"Don’t worry, I’ll do my absolute best to help you build the team!"

"Just as my friend said, a Chinese player who has reached your level of professional Achievement is no longer just a football player. You’re becoming a global sports and cultural symbol, and your commercial value is bound to be phenomenal!"

"From now on, you just focus on playing football. Leave everything else to me!"

Shen Qinghe’s ambitious declaration was very much to Wang Shuo’s liking, but he was also a little surprised.

’I never knew she had this side to her.’

But how could he know that at this very moment, in Shen Qinghe’s mind, that last sentence held another meaning entirely.

Her coming to Dortmund wasn’t as simple as just looking for a job.

...

「Afternoon of February 21st, Westfalen Stadium.」

Bundesliga Matchday 23, Dortmund at home against Hannover 96.

After thrashing Bayern Munich 4-1 away in the last round, Dortmund’s title prospects were looking excellent, even though their lead remained at 9 points because Bayer Leverkusen had also won.

The 23rd league matchday was also wedged between two UEFA Europa League knockout matches.

Therefore, Klopp opted for squad rotation, and Wang Shuo was among the players being rested.

Before the match, Wang Shuo specifically went to Klopp and said he felt physically fine.

But Klopp persuaded him otherwise, saying that after two tough battles against Bayern and Ajax, he should get a good rest.

The decision to rest Wang Shuo was a joint one made by the coaching staff and the team doctor.

"A 2-1 away win gives us an advantage, that’s true, but Ajax will not give up easily. They’ll give it their all at Westfalen Stadium, and we have to be ready for a serious fight!"

More importantly, Wang Shuo’s appearance rate this season was far too high. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Pundits and fans had even started to question whether Klopp’s management of the player was reasonable.

Averaging over 12 kilometers of running per match while maintaining such a high appearance rate was tantamount to abusing Wang Shuo.

It was only mid-February, but Wang Shuo had already made 30 appearances across all competitions.

And that didn’t even include the friendly matches.

Besides, Hannover 96 was currently 16th in the Bundesliga, deep in the relegation zone, and not a particularly strong team overall.

"All in all, just get a good rest for this match. Conserve your energy and prepare for the UEFA Europa League knockout match next Wednesday."

"You have to trust your teammates!"

Hearing this, Wang Shuo naturally understood Klopp’s concerns.

Ultimately, he was still worried that Wang Shuo would get injured from playing too much.

Since the second half of the season began, Dortmund had been plagued by frequent injuries, which worried Klopp greatly.

Facing Hannover 96 at home, Dortmund still deployed their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.

Goalkeeper: Weidenfeller;

Defense: Schmelzer, Hummels, Subotic, and Owomoyela;

Midfield: Shahin and Sven Bender as the two defensive midfielders, with Grosskreutz, Götze, and Kuba in front of them;

Forward: Valdes.

As a result, the team’s offense in the first half was chaotic and a complete mess.

Up front, Valdes was completely neutralized by the Hannover 96 defenders.

In the 37th minute, he even made an overly aggressive and slightly malicious tackle while trying to win the ball back after losing possession, earning him a yellow card.

Fortunately, in the 43rd minute, Subotic scored with a header from a corner kick, opening the scoring for the team.

The 1-0 scoreline held.

Klopp was also satisfied with this score.

So, during the second-half substitutions, players like Götze and Letalek were brought on one after another.

Meanwhile, Wang Shuo remained firmly on the bench, resting.

But then, in the 88th minute, Hannover 96 suddenly launched a fast counter-attack.

Midfielder Schulz sent a ball in behind the defense. Kone timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and, finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, slotted the ball into Dortmund’s goal.