Chapter 681 - 127: Rebuilding Arsenal! The Curse of the No. 9 Jersey! The Highest Signing Bonus in History and the World’s Highest Salary

Amunia shook his head. "His current salary isn’t bad. If it were just about supporting his immediate family, there wouldn’t be a problem. But what you don’t know is that it’s a tradition in Africa that if someone in the family makes it big, they have an obligation to take care of *everyone*."

"That’s a thing?" Wang Shuo asked, surprised.

Amunia gave a wry smile. "We’re talking over four hundred people."

"What? Over four hundred?" Wang Shuo was truly shocked.

’Isn’t that just ridiculous?’

"His father passed away when he was two, but he left behind five wives and twenty-eight children. Add in all their other relatives, and it really does come out to over four hundred people."

Wang Shuo was dumbfounded.

It completely shattered his worldview.

He’d also made a name for himself playing football, managing to get out of his village and earn good money. His cousins back home often came to him for help, like borrowing money for a wedding, or to build or buy a house...

Some relatives even used his name to start businesses.

Wang Shuo mostly stayed out of it. His parents were the ones who managed things back home. As long as no serious trouble arose, they usually turned a blind eye.

But for one person to have to support over 400 people, like Alexandre Song... that was just unbelievable.

"It’s a common situation. Adebayor once said his relatives nearly drove him crazy, and he eventually had to harden his heart and cut ties with them."

"Alexandre Song is a good-natured guy; he can’t bring himself to do it. And that whole crowd of relatives is lazy and just wants handouts. In fact, many of us have tried to find jobs for them, but they never last. The longest anyone stuck with a job was six days."

Wang Shuo felt like his whole view of the world was being turned upside down!

’How can people be like that?’

’Just fleecing one person for all he’s worth?’

Wang Shuo realized that compared to Song, his own cousins back home were saints!

"Actually, it’s easy to get on good terms with Alexandre Song. He’s not a difficult person himself. If you just send his family some milk, beef, or things like that from time to time, he’ll be incredibly grateful to you."

Wang Shuo took note.

"I understand. Thank you, Manuel."

"Don’t thank me. I just hope you can lead this team well, just as Arsène expects. Lead everyone to work together toward a championship!"

This was also Amunia’s greatest hope for Wang Shuo.

Even though he most likely wouldn’t be staying with the team himself.

Afterward, Amunia went on to describe the personality, habits, and preferences of every player on the team to Wang Shuo.

He then even started calling the team’s veterans one by one to tell them about Wang Shuo.

Don’t underestimate this.

This was a huge help to Wang Shuo.

For example, when he later spoke with vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen, Wang Shuo took the initiative to bring up defense, asking for some of Vermaelen’s opinions and ideas.

"My first stop in the European football scene was Mainz. The very first thing my manager, Klopp, demanded of me was that forwards must actively participate in defense."

"From Mainz to Dortmund, defense always started from the front—with the forwards. With me."

"I’ll bring that same work ethic to Arsenal!"

As expected, this immediately won Vermaelen over.

The Belgian center-back offered many of his own ideas, convinced that Wang Shuo’s average of over 12 kilometers run per match would significantly boost Arsenal’s high press.

"But you alone won’t be enough," Vermaelen added.

And so, the two of them began to discuss the issue.

They talked about everything from the team’s defense to its tactics, from tactics to the locker room, then to their teammates, and finally, to the locker room culture and the team’s overall morale.

"Arsène’s decision to make me captain must have surprised everyone. But he insisted because he doesn’t just want to see me score goals. He wants me to bring the spirit I learned at Dortmund—that never-say-die, fight-to-the-bitter-end mentality—to Arsenal!"

Vermaelen couldn’t agree more, nodding repeatedly.

He had been the captain back at Ajax, so he knew exactly how important that fighting spirit was.

"But I definitely can’t do it alone. That’s why I need you, and I need others. We need to build this team spirit together and establish a new locker room culture for the Gunners!"

Wang Shuo’s tone was sincere, and Vermaelen was fully supportive.

"No problem from me. Whatever you need, I’ll give you my full support and cooperation!"

Hearing this, Wang Shuo broke into a smile.

Winning over the vice-captain, Vermaelen, was undoubtedly a crucial first step toward taking charge of the locker room.

In the time before training camp began, Wang Shuo also made a point to actively reach out and talk with the other new signings.

He and Subotic were already on the same page. They had been working in tandem for years and had a perfect understanding.

With Vermaelen on board, and after getting the new signings on his side, Wang Shuo would have a solid base of support by the time the new season’s camp started. The resistance to him taking charge of the locker room would be much lower.

This was the kind of challenge any leader ’parachuted in’ had to face.

In a locker room, it’s not as simple as the manager making an appointment or a big-name star saying a few words and having everyone fall in line.

On the contrary, if he couldn’t get the majority of players on his side, his captaincy would be in name only.

To take it a step further, if he couldn’t win everyone’s respect and they just paid him lip service, how could he ever unite the locker room?

For him, this was a completely new kind of trial and challenge.

At the very least, he could no longer just keep his head down and focus only on his own training and performance. He had to start thinking about the entire team.

Most importantly, he had to learn how to manage people.

If he succeeded, it would be a massive step up for his entire professional career.