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Gary Neville stepped off the plane and felt the heat hit him full on in the face like an oncoming train. Perhaps his smartest suit was not the best of options, he had to look his best, he told himself. The man on the phone had told him the Fenerbaçhe board wanted to discuss a contract with him, as the manager.
Privately Gary had always seen himself as a manager, but punditry had called him first and his bank manager had made sure he took what jobs he could get now that his playing career was over. The view was dynamic, breathtaking, Emma would love it here, he felt his heart twinge at the thought of upending his family and moving to a country he had first set foot in just moments before, but it was something he needed to do.
Gary stepped into the taxi that had awaited him and sat back to think about what he was doing. On entering the boardroom in the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium Mr Neville immediately felt the eyes of the room on him, he spoke not a word of Turkish, nervous, he peered at his translator anxiously and said
”Pleased to meet you all, and thank you for this opportunity.” A nervous smile shot across his face. His translator repeated that in a language that sounded something close to French, well, all foreign languages were French to Gary. His eyes flickered around the room to see suspicious eyes looking back at him. One man leaned forward and passed him a piece of paper,
”You sign” demanded the man.
”Yes, yes, I sign, I sign” said Gary hopefully grasping a pen from his pocket.
The contract was in printed in Turkish, with an English translation underneath, Gary scanned through it, he had never been thorough before signing things like this, especially not on a day like this. The men in the room gently clapped him as he signed on each dotted line, a strange custom he thought. Finally he got to the last page and signed, a new period of his life began…
