Julien didn't care about Nasri's subsequent performance. He packed his belongings and said goodbye to Giroud, Varane, Griezmann, and the others.
Then he boarded the flight from Paris to Bastia.
Châtaigner personally picked him up at the airport as usual.
They embraced warmly upon meeting. "Well done! For the match in two days, I've already told Faruk that you must be a substitute and play at most thirty minutes. You need proper rest."
Julien smiled. "It's fine, really. The national team training wasn't that intensive."
Châtaigner opened the car door for Julien and continued, "No, you need proper rest. I heard about what happened with the national team. You did well."
"You already know about that?"
"Haha, of course! I spent some time with the national team myself, so I still have those connections."
Châtaigner got into the driver's seat and pulled a paper from the glove compartment, covered with what looked like scribbled handwriting.
"Take a look at this."
Julien took the paper. Châtaigner said, "Stop thinking about the national team stuff. From the moment controversy started around your national team call-up, we at Bastia have always been your backing. That Nasri kid won't amount to much—his personality ensures his career will end abruptly."
"This is a sponsorship contract that Uhlsport drafted with us. They want to sign you. I mentioned it briefly to Pierre last time, but you were too busy with matches and national team duties, so we didn't tell you then. Now take a look and decide for yourself."
Julien nodded and examined the sponsorship contract.
Uhlsport, currently Bastia's sponsor, was a German sports company that, while not as famous as Adidas or Nike, had their own specialty: goalkeeper gloves.
How popular were Uhlsport's goalkeeper gloves? While they couldn't claim a monopoly on the goalkeeper glove market, they were undoubtedly the leading brand.
However, their market share in gloves had been steadily eroded by Adidas, Nike, and other brands in recent years.
Uhlsport realized they couldn't rely solely on goalkeeper gloves anymore. They needed to pay more attention to the broader markets of boots and jerseys, and couldn't fall behind in advertising either.
They had previously signed Juventus's Czech midfielder Pavel Nedvěd for a hefty sum.
But their influence remained relatively weak, with their jersey sponsorships limited to weaker teams.
The big clubs wouldn't deign to cooperate with them.
Looking at this sponsorship contract, it seemed Uhlsport wanted to bet on him.
This was a ten-year sponsorship deal.
The first year offered a 500,000 euro signing fee, with subsequent years based on the 500,000 euro basic signing fee, plus performance-based influence bonuses according to De Rocca's on-field displays.
But Julien roughly calculated that even if he reached a top-five league powerhouse and became a regular starter, according to this draft contract's bonus structure, the annual signing fee would cap at around five to six million euros.
This seemed high.
But Julien wasn't willing to accept this type of contract. They didn't want to take risks yet wanted to freeload off his fame—such a thing was impossible.
Clearly, Uhlsport's sincerity was insufficient.
But in the eyes of Châtaigner, Pierre, and others, a basic signing fee of 500,000 euros wasn't that bad.
Châtaigner said, "It's just that the duration is too long, but these things can be negotiated."
Julien put the paper away and refused bluntly, "I don't want to sign these endorsement contracts for now. The price is too low."
His current influence and performance weren't enough yet, so contract terms wouldn't favor him.
Châtaigner drove and nodded. As a middleman between the club's financial backer and the team's core player, he certainly wouldn't say much.
Back in Bastia.
Julien felt relaxed—his teammates didn't have the divisions of his national team colleagues.
"Hey, look who's back! France international Julien De Rocca!" Rothen saw Julien and shouted dramatically.
This drew echoes from the others.
When Julien entered the training ground, Hadzibegic immediately pushed him away. "No, this isn't where you should be. Go to the treatment room. Your job today is to rest properly—no training is needed."
Julien shrugged. "Alright."
He waved to Rothen and the others as a greeting.
"Boss! We want to rest too! You're playing favorites!" David and others jeered.
Hadzibegic shot back, "Anyone else just returning from the French national team can rest too. So, who else?"
"Ha-ha-ha."
The players erupted in laughter.
"Get back to training! Let's win the next match!" Hadzibegic only showed his gentle side to Julien—with other players, he was quite strict.
April 8th.
At seven in the evening, Bastia hosted their Ligue 2 Round 31 opponents, Guingamp.
Guingamp wasn't a strong team.
Founded in 1912, they had long competed in low-level amateur regional leagues. In 1972, under then-president Grat's leadership, the team made four consecutive promotions to reach Ligue 2.
The team only began professionalization in 1984, transitioning from amateur to professional status.
However, they were basically also with empty trophy cabinet.
The team had no major championship titles to date.
Stade Césari had become a sacred ground for Bastia fans.
They looked forward to matches here every month.
This time, the team didn't disappoint them.
By the 60th minute, the team led Guingamp 2-1.
Cheers echoed throughout.
Then, at the 62nd minute, when play stopped for a dead ball, the fourth official raised the substitution board.
Number 29 replacing number 23.
BOOM!!
Stade Césari felt like it was hit by an earthquake as fans rose to their feet cheering.
"De Rocca!"
One chant after another echoed through the night sky.
David came off and hugged Julien, saying, "Go on, score goals, claim the league golden boot for yourself. Go for it!"
Julien just nodded. He tapped his toe on the sideline and officially entered the game!
"Hadzibegic has brought on De Rocca—Guingamp's troubles have arrived!
De Rocca has been in exceptional form this season. He's now Bastia's attacking core, with 1.4 goals per game average that not only made him Ligue 2's most valuable player but also earned him a spot in Blanc's French national team squad."
The Ligue 2 commentator's words reached every fan watching the broadcast.
Not only were Bastia fans excited, but sports bettors were thrilled too.
"Finally! De Rocca's on—time to go all in!"
"Haha, betting on over goals is a sure thing!"
"After months of continuous torture by De Rocca, I finally understand that to keep up with the rhythm, you have to keep betting on him!"
TWEET!!
Just as the sports bettors were getting excited, on the field, the referee's whistle sounded.
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