Rise of a Football God

"Wait, your transfer value is now 30 million Euros?!" Ian stared at his best friend incredulously. "Damn! This calls for celebration!"

But then he deflated. "Damn! Just 1 year and you're already worth 30 million Euros, is my career as a doctor even relevant?"

Sam was tongue-tied, he didn't know what to say.

But trust Ian, he soon glared at his best friend, grinning. "Sam, you can't be so successful in life and your best friend is left wanting".

"Today, you must spend on us! I mean real spending, splurge!"

"Yes, big brother, splurge!"

Sam was flabbergasted. When he eventually looked to his last line of support, Kayla, all his hopes were dashed when Kayla quietly went towards Ian and Sophia's side. "Fine, where do you guys want to go today?"

"Let's go to an amusement park!"

"Let's go to the real locations of Jujutsu Kaisen! Let's go to Shibuya!"

Everyone paused, turning to look at Ian with eyes that said 'are you ok?' Surprisingly, in the end, Ian managed to convince Sophia and Kayla with his smooth tongue and they ended up going to Shibuya.

…

Sam spent 18 days with his best friend, sister, and Kayla in Japan.

After 18 days, finally, on the 7th of June, on a Friday, Sam finally got ready to leave Japan. Their next destination was Nigeria.

Sam stared at Kayla incredulously. "Are you for real? You really want to follow us to Nigeria?"

"Yeah," she smiled mischievously. "Can't I?"

"No, you can," Sam smiled. "It's just, you know, your family, I just thought maybe, you know".

"That they won't approve," she chuckled. "Sam, I'm 18, I'm an adult, I get to do whatever I want so long it's not illegal".

"Oh, right".

And so it was decided, Kayla would be following them back to Nigeria.

Before embarking on the journey back to his alma mater though, there was something even more important that Sam wanted to do.

For most of his life, all Sam remembered was growing up in the outskirts of Abraka. When he was younger, he remembered times when things were really tough and his dad struggled to make ends meet. Discover stories at empire

This was how Sam lived most of his life.

At some point, after securing a better job, Mr. Moses managed to raise the standard of living of his family but it was still that of an average family in Nigeria.

Now though, as a professional football player playing in one of the clubs in the top tier of English football, Sam finally decided to change the fortunes of his family and he wanted it to be a surprise.

This was why he planned it with only his best friend, neither Sophia, nor Kayla, nor even his parents knew about his plan.

That morning, before taking the flight back to Nigeria, Sam concluded a big deal with a legit house agent back in Nigeria.

During December last year after his contract talks with Fulham were finalized, his signing bonus of 2,000,000 Euros was wired to his account.

That money stayed in his account since then till now. Sam never really thought of any investment opportunities yet, nor did he spend it, banking his bills and expenses on his salary from his club, Fulham.

Now though, Sam finally decided to spend a chunk of his money.

After concluding the deal that morning, Sam purchased a big duplex mansion in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, Abuja in one of the most affluent districts for the rich in Maitama.

Sam shelled out $600,000 which at the current ridiculously inflated dollar rate of 1,400 naira to a dollar was 840 million naira.

Yes, Sam splurged 840 million naira to purchase a mansion in Nigeria.

This was the luxury of living life as a professional football player plying his trade in one of the best leagues in the world.

…

Since Kayla agreed to follow them to Nigeria, another big reason why Sam agreed to go with her was to introduce her to his mom.

He still remembered the embarrassing conversation he had with his mom.

Call him a mommy's boy but Sam didn't care, that was how he was raised. Before he would make any decision regarding the love side of his life, at the very least, he wanted his mother to know about it.

When they eventually arrived in Nigeria, like nothing happened, Sam and Ian took the girls to Delta State, Abraka where they crashed in Sam's home.

Well, his parents' home was definitely unbecoming for a footballer of his fame and caliber right now in the premier league.

The fact that Sam was not ashamed of introducing this home to her made Kayla know another aspect of his character; he was not ashamed of his background. In a way, it made her respect him more.

Of course, on his return back to Abraka, once the people got wind of it, Sam got a hero's welcome.

He obliged to most of their wishes, taking pictures with those he could before eventually forcing his way into his home with the help of guards.

Having predicted something like this, Mr. Moses already spent money to hire some professional police officers and bodyguards to protect his son.

Once they were inside, they helped themselves to the delicious native Banga soup and eba that Sam's mom prepared for them.

Seeing her eat her food with so much joy, Mrs. Moses' opinion of the white girl that her son brought back home directly rose to above 50%.

Sam took his first day back in Abraka to rest, catching up with Nigeria alongside his parents, most especially his father.

The next day, Sam took his whole family out alongside Kayla and Ian, taking them to Asaba, the capital city of Delta State where they had a nice time at a restaurant, an amusement park, and eventually a beach.

They stayed 3 days in Asaba at a hotel before finally returning to Abraka.

On the day they returned, Coach James visited. This coach was all smiles. "Sam, I heard you came back in town so I organized a game".

"I know you're a big boy now but please, can you bless us with your skills one more time?"

Sam laughed. "You don't need to beg coach, you're my very first coach, remember?" He stood up. "I'll play".n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

And so, Sam, Ian, and Mr. Moses left with Coach James.

News that Sam would be playing in the rickety field of the Delta State University, Abraka spread far and wide like wildfire in harmattan.

The university ground was filled with spectators despite the impromptu nature of the game, all here to see Sam play.

And while all that happened, back home, while Sophia pressed her phone in her room, Mrs. Moses had quality alone time with Kayla, the white girl.