Gabriel Sutton
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- Jan 16, 2012
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Saturday 8th October 1994
A pub in Manchester
To celebrate him coming to Manchester, Gabriel had invited Benoit out for a drink.
“So how you been lately?”
“Is okay, yourself?”
“Not too bad, bit gutted about being kicked off the City team, but my girlfriends got a baby on the way.”
“Oh really? You did not tell me this! Congratulations!”
“Well, thanks- I guess I’ve got this football up. I’m over it.”
“Well, as it’s a night of announcements- you know Robert we met up with for lunch in Paris a few weeks ago, we’ve been going out for a long time now and.. we got engaged!”
“Oh Benoit, congratulations! That’s fantastic news!”
“My family are not sure about this, but feels right.”
“I guess when you know, you know, you know?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“So whens the wedding?”
“Is this summer! We’ve decided to get married by Church of Saint-Pierre, by the sea in Caen! You be invited!”
“Oh thank you so much, very happy for you.”
Friday 9th July 2011
London Waterloo
Gabriel was on his way to France for a meeting with Mbaye Niang and his agent in Paris- he had got a copy of Four-Four-Two magazine which he had finished since the journey from Manchester Piccadilly. There was an article of David Hall’s interview with him after the televised pressc onference. It read ‘Sutton- a Four-Four-Two fan’.
He got to Paris at 11, ready for a meeting at 1 o’clock. He fancied having a look round. Taking a few photos of Parc-des Princes, the ground of Paris-Saint German, from which he hoped to sign Mamadou Sakho. Noticing a nice café next to the river Seine on Boulevard Saint-Germain, he went inside for a coffee.
“Oh my god, Benoit, it’s been ages!”
“Gabriel! Hahaha How you doing? I heard you appoint manager Manchester Cite!”
“Yeah, I’m here for a meeting with this player’s agent!”
“Wonderful! Me and Robert hold season ticket for Paris Saint-German!”
“You should go and play Brighton.”
“What is Brighton?”
“Nothing. So, how have you been? Hardly seen you since the wedding, about 20 years ago!”
“Oh, we’ve been good, have invested in Café, we get good business. Love the river, is nice. Ah, Robert?”
“Oui?”
“Ce n’est Gabriel.”
“Ah, bonjour.”
“Hi mate, yeah, so I’m afraid I’m off to a meeting now, but it was great to see you both.”
“Ah, Mr Sutton, delighted to meet you, this is Mbaye Niang and I am his agent, Gerard Meunier.”
“Great to meet you both, thank you.”
“Mbaye is about to sign a new contract with SM Caen, what are your intentions should you go ahead with this deal?”
“Well, my scouting team have said that you have the potential to be one of the best players in the world. Although I respect your love for the club, I don’t think that you can reach your full potential at a team midtable in Ligue 1. No disrespect intended to Caen, but I feel that to be the best you need ambition. We have that in abundance at Manchester City.”
Whatever Gabriel said was translated by Meunier. Niang looked interested, rubbing his chin before he
whispered in his agent's ear.
"For the next 2 or 3 seasons, how will you use Mr Niang to help aid his development?"
"I feel that to get the best out of you, we need to gradually integrate you into the first team. Therefore,
we will play you in Carling Cup matches, and have you on the bench in other games. I will decide in
advance whether to put you on the bench, if there is no space, we may play Mbaye in the reserves
occassionally. But fundamentally we want to give you as much first team experience as possible. I will
see for the first year whether this benefits yourself. If not, I may consider sending you out on loan the
following season and monitoring the development the year after that."
“Once Mr Niang turns 17 on 19th December, what basic wage would you be prepared to offer him?
“I would wish to offer him £5,000 per week on a 3-year-deal,with a signing-on-fee and loyalty bonus of £50K.
Alongside this, we wish to offer him a £100 goal, assist and appearance fee.”
Once repeated, Mbaye looked offended.
“Mr Niang feels that we are quite far apart in these negotiations. He would require £10,750 per week, a signing on fee and loyalty bonus of £110K, with a £200 goal, assist and appearance fee.”
Gabriel felt it would be unwise to negotiate further than this with the club in such a healthy financial position.
“Deal.”
A pub in Manchester
To celebrate him coming to Manchester, Gabriel had invited Benoit out for a drink.
“So how you been lately?”
“Is okay, yourself?”
“Not too bad, bit gutted about being kicked off the City team, but my girlfriends got a baby on the way.”
“Oh really? You did not tell me this! Congratulations!”
“Well, thanks- I guess I’ve got this football up. I’m over it.”
“Well, as it’s a night of announcements- you know Robert we met up with for lunch in Paris a few weeks ago, we’ve been going out for a long time now and.. we got engaged!”
“Oh Benoit, congratulations! That’s fantastic news!”
“My family are not sure about this, but feels right.”
“I guess when you know, you know, you know?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“So whens the wedding?”
“Is this summer! We’ve decided to get married by Church of Saint-Pierre, by the sea in Caen! You be invited!”
“Oh thank you so much, very happy for you.”
********************
London Waterloo
Gabriel was on his way to France for a meeting with Mbaye Niang and his agent in Paris- he had got a copy of Four-Four-Two magazine which he had finished since the journey from Manchester Piccadilly. There was an article of David Hall’s interview with him after the televised pressc onference. It read ‘Sutton- a Four-Four-Two fan’.
He got to Paris at 11, ready for a meeting at 1 o’clock. He fancied having a look round. Taking a few photos of Parc-des Princes, the ground of Paris-Saint German, from which he hoped to sign Mamadou Sakho. Noticing a nice café next to the river Seine on Boulevard Saint-Germain, he went inside for a coffee.
“Oh my god, Benoit, it’s been ages!”
“Gabriel! Hahaha How you doing? I heard you appoint manager Manchester Cite!”
“Yeah, I’m here for a meeting with this player’s agent!”
“Wonderful! Me and Robert hold season ticket for Paris Saint-German!”
“You should go and play Brighton.”
“What is Brighton?”
“Nothing. So, how have you been? Hardly seen you since the wedding, about 20 years ago!”
“Oh, we’ve been good, have invested in Café, we get good business. Love the river, is nice. Ah, Robert?”
“Oui?”
“Ce n’est Gabriel.”
“Ah, bonjour.”
“Hi mate, yeah, so I’m afraid I’m off to a meeting now, but it was great to see you both.”
“Ah, Mr Sutton, delighted to meet you, this is Mbaye Niang and I am his agent, Gerard Meunier.”
“Great to meet you both, thank you.”
“Mbaye is about to sign a new contract with SM Caen, what are your intentions should you go ahead with this deal?”
“Well, my scouting team have said that you have the potential to be one of the best players in the world. Although I respect your love for the club, I don’t think that you can reach your full potential at a team midtable in Ligue 1. No disrespect intended to Caen, but I feel that to be the best you need ambition. We have that in abundance at Manchester City.”
Whatever Gabriel said was translated by Meunier. Niang looked interested, rubbing his chin before he
whispered in his agent's ear.
"For the next 2 or 3 seasons, how will you use Mr Niang to help aid his development?"
"I feel that to get the best out of you, we need to gradually integrate you into the first team. Therefore,
we will play you in Carling Cup matches, and have you on the bench in other games. I will decide in
advance whether to put you on the bench, if there is no space, we may play Mbaye in the reserves
occassionally. But fundamentally we want to give you as much first team experience as possible. I will
see for the first year whether this benefits yourself. If not, I may consider sending you out on loan the
following season and monitoring the development the year after that."
“Once Mr Niang turns 17 on 19th December, what basic wage would you be prepared to offer him?
“I would wish to offer him £5,000 per week on a 3-year-deal,with a signing-on-fee and loyalty bonus of £50K.
Alongside this, we wish to offer him a £100 goal, assist and appearance fee.”
Once repeated, Mbaye looked offended.
“Mr Niang feels that we are quite far apart in these negotiations. He would require £10,750 per week, a signing on fee and loyalty bonus of £110K, with a £200 goal, assist and appearance fee.”
Gabriel felt it would be unwise to negotiate further than this with the club in such a healthy financial position.
“Deal.”
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