Chapter 783: Truce! Wang Shuo Won! Wang Shuo, Come Claim Your Golden Ball Award! Who Isn't a Master of Sarcasm?

Maybe he had even accepted a bribe from Blatter!

Under these circumstances, continuing the fight might not end well for Wang Shuo. As time passed, public memory would fade. When that happened, if the other side manipulated public opinion, Wang Shuo’s image could easily be flipped against him. Playing the long game meant fighting and negotiating at the same time.

“I have three demands,” Wang Shuo stated unequivocally.

David Dunn broke into a pleasantly surprised smile. Wang Shuo was doing him a huge favor! Even Wenger, sitting nearby, was overjoyed, assuming Wang Shuo was making this concession purely out of respect for him.

The reason was simple. Whoever brokered this reconciliation would see a massive boost to their reputation!

“First, although Blatter has retracted his inappropriate remarks, he hasn’t officially apologized. I can accept the Golden Ball Award, but I won’t go to Zurich. They can arrange for someone to present the award to me in London, but it cannot be Blatter.”

David Dunn and Wenger were both smart men; they instantly understood Wang Shuo’s intent. You take a step back, and I’ll take a step back. Since you retracted your statement but refused to apologize, I’ll reluctantly accept the Golden Ball Award, but I’m not going to Zurich.

How to resolve this? Simple. A pre-recorded video or a live broadcast connection would do the trick.

“That shouldn’t be a big problem,” David Dunn replied.

“Second, for the title of Global Ambassador, I demand the inclusion of anti-discrimination,” Wang Shuo said, though he was secretly laughing on the inside.

Why anti-discrimination? Did it even need to be said? Because he himself had been the target of discrimination, making him the perfect fit for an anti-discrimination Global Ambassador role.

David Dunn and Wenger nearly burst out laughing. This was blatantly wearing his “conspiracy” on his sleeve. But considering FIFA’s current predicament…

“That should also be fine,” David Dunn agreed.

“Third, all of this must be codified into one or more formal legal documents, signed and verified by both parties, and the relevant projects must be incorporated into FIFA’s annual plan.”

David Dunn hesitated for a moment. “Give me a little time. I’ll communicate with Zurich right away.”

Wang Shuo nodded and glanced over at Shen Qinghe.

“I’ll contact the lawyers.” It only took a single look for Shen Qinghe to understand what he wanted.

Never mistake FIFA for honorable people who keep their word! The promises they were making now sounded wonderful, but the problem was, how could they ensure they actually followed through? They had to strike while the iron was hot and turn these verbal promises into legally binding documents—like a Settlement and Performance Agreement, or a Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation.

It had to be legally binding. If they failed to execute it in the future, the documents could directly serve as evidence for a lawsuit. Of course, the exact wording of the agreements, the number of clauses, the enforcement measures, and the establishment of oversight and execution mechanisms would all be handled by professional lawyers.

If there were only verbal commitments, this truce would devolve into a pointless he-said-she-said stalemate. But with legal documents in hand, the nature of the situation changed entirely.

As Wang Shuo saw it, since he couldn’t take down Blatter for the time being, he might as well take David Dunn’s advice: collect some interest now, and settle the score properly when the next opportunity arose. They had plenty of time.

And if this could truly be implemented, Wang Shuo would profit immensely from the whole affair!

***

Far away in Zurich, Switzerland, the moment Valcke received David Dunn’s phone call, he immediately turned and reported it to Blatter.

“That treacherous bastard!” Blatter nearly coughed up blood from anger the moment he heard that Wang Shuo was demanding signed documents and was unwilling to come to Zurich in person to accept the award.

His calculation had been to placate Wang Shuo first, and then slowly drag out negotiations after the Golden Ball Award had been presented. But unexpectedly, Wang Shuo had anticipated this exact move!

“He absolutely refuses to give an inch!” Blatter cursed.

Valcke and Nichols exchanged a helpless glance, very much wanting to remind the 75-year-old man of their reality. It didn’t seem like they had a choice right now!

“What do you think?” Blatter asked anxiously. Since Wang Shuo had loosened his grip, his most pressing priority was to wrap up this situation as quickly as possible.

“We can sign it, and we must implement it. It’s very easy to find justifications for developing football in China—China has a population of 1.4 billion, after all. It’s just the Executive Committee I’m worried about. I’m afraid…”

“I’ll handle those guys!” Blatter decided promptly. FIFA’s current finances were incredibly abundant with several billion US Dollars in hand. Although it was public funds, Blatter was confident he could authorize spending ten to twenty million dollars a year.

“Uh, India has a massive population too. Will they…” Nichols asked, speaking out of turn.

“Wait until India produces a Wang Shuo, then we’ll talk.” Blatter waved his hand dismissively and looked at Valcke. “Continue.”

“We can negotiate with Wang Shuo to stagger the dates by a few days. After signing, we’ll keep it strictly confidential. We’ll present the award first, and then announce the agreement to develop football in China a few days later. This will minimize the fallout as much as possible.”

“Good idea!” Blatter agreed on the spot.

“Also, no live connections. That’s uncontrollable,” Valcke reminded him.

Blatter and Nichols exchanged a glance and both nodded. Wang Shuo was currently still furious. If they gave him a live broadcast to deliver a speech, what if he said something highly inappropriate? That would cause immense problems.

“We’ll go over early to present the award. I’ll arrange a team to follow along, record it as a video, and play it at the ceremony,” Nichols offered a solution. Coming from a media background, he instantly came up with a countermeasure.

“The Global Ambassador title can be announced live on site. It’s just the anti-discrimination and youth football parts…”