ndes's trip to London wasn't just to inform Leon that he was highly likely to win the Silver Ball at the FIFA awards early next year.
More importantly, for ndes and the entire comrcial team behind Leon, this visit was about negotiating the renewal of the first wave of endorsent deals they had signed years ago.
Among the companies involved were several corporate giants from China, powerful both in capital and industry resources—
and naturally, ndes didn't intend to exclude them from future cooperation.
In fact, many of these firms had already offered upgraded, more lucrative deals.
ndes's goal this ti was to finalize with Leon which mid-to-small-sized brands to drop and which big players to bring in.
Back when they signed the original endorsents, ndes hadn't granted any exclusivity clauses for renewals,
and most deals had been limited to two years. Now that those terms were ending, it was ti to renegotiate.
And if talks didn't go well?
A friendly split was more than acceptable.
After calming down from the emotional high of the previous night, Leon sat and listened to ndes's analysis and advice.
Truthfully, Leon didn't care much about money anymore.
By the end of last year, his total earnings from endorsents alone had already made him the highest-paid athlete in the industry—by a wide margin.
His personal brand projects, orchestrated by ndes, were also steadily progressing.
By the end of next year, Leon was projected to out-earn both ssi and Cristiano combined.
So when he said he wasn't prioritizing money in future endorsent talks, it wasn't so pretentious line—it was just the truth.
Still, he wasn't going to act like money didn't matter.
He had a large team behind him working tirelessly to maximize his value.
And ndes had a point:
Big money deals didn't always co from good companies.
anwhile, smaller brands that had benefitted greatly from Leon's influence in China's market needed to step up their offers to show sincerity.
If you're going to pay less than 80% of the current industry top rate, how is that a "sincere" partnership?
So Leon agreed to ndes's guideline:
It's business. We all want to make money.
If an existing partner's competitor offers more, and the current partner can match at least 80% and offer flexible terms—great, let's continue.
If they can't?
No hard feelings. The contract ends, we go our separate ways.
With Leon's approval, ndes was overjoyed.
He popped open a bottle of red wine right in Leon's living room and toasted him.
After a few glasses, with no one else around, ndes began venting about how ssy things had beco with Cristiano and Real Madrid's contract situation.
"I'm tired of this," ndes sighed. "And honestly, I don't even know if moving Cristiano to another top European club would accomplish anything at this point.
He's almost 30, and still just as stubborn and competitive as ever!
I already told him—after two Ballon d'Or wins in a row, he should've just signed the long-term offer from Florentino and stayed at Madrid until retirent.
But no, he wants a contract with higher pay than ssi's!
I said it before—Barcelona's board has shit for brains! Paying ssi that much? They'll regret it, just wait. This is not sustainable…"
ndes was clearly caught in the middle, being pulled from both sides.
Now, relaxed and proud after a productive eting with Leon, he finally had a chance to vent everything all at once.
Leon didn't say much.
He just patted ndes on the shoulder now and then, quietly offering support.
Because he understood—there was no easy answer.
Florentino had always maintained a strict salary structure at Real Madrid.
If one superstar got a big raise, every other player's agent would line up asking for the sa.
It would be chaos.
But was Cristiano wrong? Not at all.
He had just won two Ballon d'Ors, helped Madrid claim six titles, and had successfully defended the Champions League crown.
Statistically, he had been neck and neck with ssi for several seasons.
And in terms of team accomplishnts, Cristiano had the edge—ssi had only managed one Copa del Rey during that span.
So when Cristiano saw ssi land a far bigger extension, of course he was furious.
That's just who he was—direct and proud.
If he wanted sothing, he said it.
Florentino, on the other hand, figured that with Cristiano turning 30, his form wouldn't hold up for long.
After all, countless stars had faded after crossing that age threshold.
But Cristiano believed—knew—he could extend his peak.
And if Florentino could have seen into the future,
he'd have handed over €30 million per year without blinking, because Cristiano was worth it—and would bring Madrid even more revenue.
But unlike Leon, Florentino didn't have a crystal ball.
So the standoff continued. And poor ndes was stuck in the middle of two of the strongest personalities in the sport.
"Cristiano's always been like this," Leon said, smiling. "He's not suddenly beco this way.
You knew what he was like when you first started managing him.
And to be fair, without that attitude—without that stubbornness and belief—he would've lost to ssi years ago.
That mindset is what made him who he is."
Leon spoke calmly, defending Cristiano.
And ndes, after venting, finally cald down.
"If only you were still at Real Madrid," ndes sighed. "You could've helped reason with him.
There are things I can't say to him without upsetting him. But if you said it, he might actually listen."
Leon chuckled knowingly.
Communication was an art.
Saying what you believe is right doesn't always an the other person will hear it.
Sotis, you have to phrase it differently, approach it from their angle,
say it in a way they're willing to receive.
Back in their Madrid days, Cristiano often leaned on Leon.
When opponents taunted him, Leon would be the one to grab him and pull him away, calm him down.
Leon knew better than anyone how to soothe Cristiano's temper.
He promised ndes that he'd reach out soon to talk to Cristiano privately.
After that, they relaxed.
ndes didn't stay at the villa for long—Chelsea had an EFL Cup Round of 16 match the next day,
and though Leon wouldn't be starting, he was traveling with the squad to lend support.
ndes had plenty on his plate too, so he gave Leon a toast for good luck, and left right on schedule.
The next afternoon, Leon traveled with the team to Shropshire in England's West Midlands.
At the modest New adow Stadium, which seats just 10,000 fans, Leon sat on the bench and watched from close range as his team faced League Two side Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Cup.
For this match, Mourinho fielded a mix of rotation players and academy prospects.
Leon's presence wasn't tactical—it was symbolic. His role was to give the younger players a boost in confidence.
After all, in the eyes of many in European football, Leon was one of the luckiest stars currently playing.
Leon didn't believe in luck himself, but that didn't stop his teammates from believing in his presence.
Put simply, he was Chelsea's good luck charm on the bench.
And when the team cruised to a steady 3–0 win and advanced to the next round of the EFL Cup, Mourinho was more than satisfied with the effect of Leon's presence.
With the first-team stars having enjoyed a comfortable two-day rest, Chelsea then shifted gears and began preparations for their upcoming Premier League clash against Queens Park Rangers.
QPR had clawed their way back into the Premier League last season after promotion from the Championship.
This year, their results had been… well, typical of a newly promoted side.
After nine league matches, they had already suffered six losses and sat second to last in the table with just seven points.
Even more damning, their 18 goals conceded made them the league's worst defense at that point.
Facing such an opponent, it was hard for Chelsea to feel any tension.
With a midweek Champions League rematch against Maribor on the horizon, Mourinho decided to give veterans like Ibrahimović and Terry another day off.
So on the afternoon of November 1st, when QPR arrived at Stamford Bridge, they were greeted not by Chelsea's strongest lineup, but another rotated one.
But Crystal Palace and Manchester United had already shown what happens when you underestimate Chelsea's "second string."
Now, even lower-table teams like QPR knew better than to relax just because of the starting sheet.
Yes, the season was still young.
But the points gap between mid-table clubs and teams like QPR wasn't that wide.
And with Chelsea sitting comfortably at the top, QPR's leaky defense made them all too aware of the danger ahead.
So from the opening whistle, QPR showed no desire to win—only to survive.
Their defensive posture was clear: park the bus, pray for a point.
Initially, Mourinho didn't pay much mind to QPR's ultra-defensive setup.
But after watching his team dominate the first half without breaking through, he furrowed his brow.
When the whistle blew for halfti with the score still 0–0, Mourinho finally signaled for Leon to start warming up.
Comntators from around the world couldn't help but joke:
"Mourinho's about to unleash the real weapon."
QPR's players, still buzzing from their successful first-half defense, saw Leon pulling off his warmup vest and imdiately lost their smiles.
The second half hadn't even begun, and Mourinho had already made his first substitution—Leon on for Ramires.
Leon partnered with Kroos in a dual central midfield setup, while Lampard dropped into the holding role.
But every Chelsea fan in the stadium knew full well—there was no way Lampard was going to stay back and defend all half.
Sure enough, the second half kicked off with Lampard, Leon, and Kroos pushing high, pressing QPR deep into their own half.
It was like Chelsea had set up camp just outside QPR's box.
It was aggressive, bold, even arrogant—but QPR didn't dare say a word.
With Leon on the pitch, Torres—who'd struggled in the first half—beca noticeably more active.
Leon and Lampard started unleashing long-range missiles, one after another, shaking QPR's back line to its core.
With a mix of long shots and set-pieces, Chelsea rotated through their standard anti-park-the-bus tactics.
Thousands of QPR fans watched nervously, hands clasped in prayer.
About 20 minutes of relentless hamring later, Leon noticed sothing:
QPR's back line, having been forced to push up to stop the long shots, was now leaving more space behind.
In the 72nd minute, Leon switched places with Kroos and drifted out to the right to support De Bruyne.
He received the ball, made a slight forward touch to settle it, and adjusted his pace.
QPR's defensive midfielder Sandro, sensing danger, rushed in to block the expected long shot.
But Leon didn't shoot.
He cut inside sharply, dodging Sandro with a quick feint and sidestep, and continued charging toward the penalty area.
The sudden burst caught QPR's defense completely off guard.
Caulker stepped forward to challenge, while his partner, Dunne, fell back toward the box, hoping Karl Henry could track back in ti to fill the gap left by Sandro.
The defensive miscommunication created the opening Leon was waiting for.
He slid a perfect through-ball behind Caulker.
Dunne was playing Torres onside.
The Spaniard made a diagonal run into the box, perfectly timing his movent to et Leon's surgical pass.
One touch to settle. A quick right-footed shot.
QPR's keeper Rob Green reacted well—he got a hand to it.
But the ball still struck the inside of the post and bounced in.
Seventy minutes of hard work undone in a mont.
And right there in QPR's penalty box, Leon and Torres embraced with joy, celebrating as QPR's hopes crumbled.
Mourinho let out a long sigh on the touchline.
And after finally taking the lead, he wasted no ti—imdiately signaling the team to shift back into defensive mode.
QPR, already ntally drained, made no serious push for a coback.
The final whistle ca with the score locked at 1–0.
Chelsea hadn't won as easily as the pre-match dia predicted,
but a win was a win. The streak continued.
Fans of Manchester City and Arsenal could only shake their heads.
Chelsea just wouldn't stop winning.
And once again, Leon's second-half impact beca the focal point of post-match discussion.
He ca on, and Chelsea's attack ca alive.
That kind of influence? Impossible to ignore.
The lesson stuck with Mourinho, too.
So four days later, against Maribor, he rolled out a full-strength lineup.
Maribor, unfortunately, paid the price.
It wasn't as brutal as the previous 7–0 loss, but Chelsea still thrashed them 5–1.
And this ti, the spotlight wasn't on Leon—but on a fully rested, fully charged Ibrahimović.
After several quiet matches, the big Swede exploded in the group stage ga—scoring four goals.
Headers, volleys, tap-ins—he obliterated Maribor's defense.
Leon, content with a single assist, was still in a great mood during his post-match interview.
Chelsea had now secured top spot in their Champions League group with matches to spare.
So naturally, reporters asked the question everyone wanted to know:
Who did Leon want to face in the knockout rounds?
Leon's answer was as candid as ever.
"Of course, I want to play the strongest teams. That's always been my mindset."
Then he added with a grin:
"Though… if we end up facing Barcelona in the Round of 16, I wouldn't mind that either~"
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