The comfortable victory over Nürnberg provided a brief respite, a moment of calm on-pitch excellence before the next off-pitch storm. The decision about his representation weighed heavily on Mateo. It was a choice that would define not just his financial future, but the very trajectory of his life and career. Isabella's question had been the key, the clarifying principle that had cut through the noise of the agents' pitches: Who sees you?

Armed with this new clarity, Mateo realized that none of the three options were perfect. Branchini, the super-agent, saw only the product, a generational talent to be sold to the highest bidder.

Projekt M, the family agency, saw the person, but perhaps lacked the global muscle to navigate the complex world of international brand-building. And DSG, the digital firm, saw the brand, a collection of data points and engagement metrics to be optimized. Each offered a piece of what he needed, but none offered the whole.

So, he decided to build his own solution.

He called another meeting with Sarah and Klopp. He was nervous, but also resolute. He had spent two sleepless nights thinking it through, using the System not for football simulations, but to run strategic models of his own future. He had mapped out the strengths and weaknesses of each agency, the potential conflicts of interest, the areas of synergy.

In the meeting room, he laid out his plan, with Sarah translating his precise, deliberate signs. "I will not sign with Branchini," he began. "I will not be a product on a shelf. My career will not be dictated by the highest bidder. I need to feel in control."

Klopp nodded, a look of profound relief on his face.

"But," Mateo continued as Sarah translated, "I recognize the value of both Projekt M and DSG. They offer two different kinds of expertise, both of which I need. So, I propose a hybrid approach. A team."

He then detailed his vision, a structure of such surprising maturity and strategic foresight that it left both Sarah and Klopp momentarily speechless. He wanted to hire Projekt M as his lead agents, responsible for all his football contracts, his personal legal affairs, and his family's financial security. They would be his shield, his protectors, the guardians of Mateo the person.

Simultaneously, he wanted to retain DSG on a consultancy basis. They would not be his agents, but his strategic partners, responsible for managing his digital presence, building his brand in a way that was authentic to his values, and helping him leverage his platform for his foundation. They would be his sword, the architects of Der Maestro the public figure.

And at the center of it all, the central point of contact, the chief operating officer of "Mateo, Inc.," would be Sarah. She would be his primary representative, the one who would coordinate between the two agencies, the club, and his family. She would be the ultimate guardian of his interests, the one person who understood both the corporate world and the personal world of the boy at the center of it all.

When he finished, the room was silent. Klopp stared at him, a slow, incredulous smile spreading across his face. "My God, son," he said, his voice filled with awe. "You are not just a footballer. You are a CEO."

Sarah was equally stunned. She had known he was intelligent, but this was a level of strategic thinking that was years beyond his age. He had not just chosen an agent; he had built his own agency. He had created a structure that would allow him to have the best of all worlds: the protection of a family, the power of a global brand, and the control of his own destiny.

"I… I am honored, Mateo," she signed, her hands trembling slightly. "I will not let you down."

The decision was made.

The creation of "Mateo, Inc." was a masterstroke of strategic thinking that solidified his off-pitch future and, most importantly, brought him a profound sense of peace.

With Sarah managing his professional life and the legal threat silencing the parasitic journalist Felix Baum, a heavy cloud of anxiety lifted from Mateo's shoulders.

For the first time in months, he felt he could breathe, that he could dedicate the entirety of his formidable mental energy not to self-preservation, but to self-improvement. The days leading into the final week of February became a montage of a master returning to his craft, not out of desperation, but out of pure, unadulterated love.

His free-kick practice, once a frantic, obsessive ritual, transformed into a quiet, artistic exploration. He was no longer just trying to score; he was painting with the ball, a scientist in his laboratory.

The System, his silent partner, became a tool for refinement, not just creation. He would spend hours after the official training sessions concluded, under the watchful, appreciative eyes of the coaching staff, with just a bag of balls and the goal.

"Impact point is optimal," the System would confirm in his mind after a perfectly executed knuckleball. "Now, let's refine the swerve. Alter your follow-through by 2 degrees and increase the rotational velocity of your ankle by 5%. The ball will have a later, more aggressive curve."

He would adjust, and the next shot would bend around the practice wall with a wicked, almost physics-defying arc. He was developing a whole repertoire: dipping shots, swerving efforts, and powerful, driven free kicks that relied on pure, calculated force.

This renewed focus bled into team training, and the effects were palpable. He was more present, more connected to his teammates than ever before. In one session, Klopp set up a complex attacking drill: a rapid transition from defense to offense.

The System fed Mateo a constant stream of predictive data, allowing him to see the play unfolding a split-second before it happened. He received a pass from Hummels, and without looking, played a first-time, perfectly weighted ball into the path of Marco Reus.

He didn't just pass the ball to where Reus was; he passed it to where Reus would be in two seconds' time. Reus, in turn, laid it off for Lewandowski, who finished with clinical precision. The entire move, from defense to the back of the net, took less than ten seconds. The other players stopped and applauded. It was football from the future, and Mateo was its conductor.

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