On this day, the press conference room at Old Trafford was packed with hundreds of media reporters. Manchester United even stationed security guards at the entrance, allowing only invited and authorized journalists to enter.
Ethan was one of them.
Appearing at such a formal occasion, he had to dress formally, even though he did not particularly like suits and ties. However, if he wanted to move smoothly within British high society, this kind of attire was unavoidable.
Although it was called a press conference, it was essentially Manchester United's official media event.
Ethan had once been regarded as a traitor to Manchester United, so his appearance at such an event naturally attracted considerable attention, especially after his televised debate with Edwards not long ago. Although Edwards' downfall was not directly related to him, that did not stop people from letting their imaginations run wild.
"Hello, Mr. Yu!" Peter Kenyon greeted him, accompanied by his assistant.
Ethan politely shook his hand, then looked around the luxurious press conference venue and smiled.
"After being a Manchester United supporter for decades, this is my first time entering this place."
"Yes, it was here that we announced Stam's arrival to everyone, and I believe it will also be here that we announce the arrivals of more and more superstars," Peter Kenyon said, full of ambition.
Having just replaced Edwards as the club's chief executive, he had already begun reforming the club. He was confident that under his leadership, the team's future would be even brighter than its past.
That made Ethan think of Verón. Perhaps the Argentine superstar was already part of Manchester United's transfer plans.
Seeing that Ethan seemed uninterested in his plans, Kenyon felt a little awkward. He pointed toward a seat in the front row and led Ethan over.
"To be honest, Mr. Yu, although Mr. Edwards once misunderstood the founding of New Manchester United, I hope Manchester United and New Manchester United can put the past behind them and even build a friendly relationship. You know, many clubs around Manchester were founded by Manchester United supporters, and we welcome that very much!"
Ethan smiled. "And then?"
"Then New Manchester United can receive help from Manchester United, such as support in academy development, coaching staff, connections, and other areas. Of course, given Mr. Yu's current status and financial strength, New Manchester United naturally has no need for financial assistance from Manchester United."
"So what would New Manchester United need to do?" Ethan suddenly understood Kenyon's intentions.
Manchester United did later establish many partner clubs in the Manchester area, and those clubs became part of Manchester United's academy network. Ethan simply had not realized that this plan had begun during Kenyon's time.
"We can cooperate in many areas, such as youth player development, first-team transfers, and so on. This would greatly improve the relationship between our two clubs. You know, many New Manchester United supporters are currently hostile toward Manchester United."
Ethan almost wanted to say that Manchester United only had themselves to blame.
Just look at what Edwards had said in that interview back then. Was that something the chairman of a club should say about a supporter-founded team?
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kenyon, but it would be very difficult for me to change the supporters' minds. Perhaps I should put it this way. Our two clubs have completely different operating philosophies. You are a publicly traded company, focused on profit and increasing share value, while we are simply a pure football club."
There were still things Ethan wanted to say, but he knew this was not the right occasion.
Edwards had already begun planning to sell his Manchester United shares, and Murdoch was also looking to offload part of his stake in the club. Ethan could not acquire those shares because he was the owner of New Manchester United and could not run two professional clubs at the same time. Otherwise, there would definitely be trouble.
Moreover, to be honest, he was not interested in Manchester United shares.
Manchester United were already an established club.
No matter who stepped in, the result would be the same. By contrast, New Manchester United, under Ethan's leadership, were steadily moving in the direction he had planned. This was the club that gave Ethan the greatest sense of achievement.
Kenyon listened with some embarrassment, but still managed to smile and nod.
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Yu, I wanted to inform you privately that Manchester United have decided to partner with Nike. Therefore, after our sponsorship contract with Umbro ends in August 2002, we will not renew it. I hope you understand!"
Ethan also smiled. He already knew about this and had heard the rumours.
"You should fax this information to Umbro, not tell me, Mr. Kenyon. I'm here as Beckham's friend to attend the launch of his autobiography!"
Having embarrassed himself again, Kenyon could only walk away awkwardly.
From a distance, Ferguson, with his silver hair and ruddy complexion, had clearly been watching.
After Kenyon left, Ethan saw him and walked over. Regardless of the relationship between New Manchester United and Manchester United, he had immense respect for Ferguson.
"I thought you wouldn't come!" Ethan said with a smile.
"Did David tell you?" Ferguson asked sharply.
Ethan chuckled, shook his head, and pointed to his own head.
"I can figure things out myself, Sir."
There was a stir among the reporters in the venue as the two main figures of today's press conference, Beckham and Kenyon, walked onto the stage one after another. Then the host announced the start of the press conference.
But Ferguson showed no intention of going over, so Ethan simply stood with him. The two of them stood there like staff members inside the venue.
"Times have changed, Sir. Players today play on computers and phones, drive Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and wear Armani. It's completely different from before. When dealing with this new generation of players, don't you think you should change your approach? They respect you very, very much, just as they respect their fathers."
"But they always defy their fathers!" Ferguson replied with a sneer.
Ethan smiled helplessly.
It was very, very difficult to change someone's stubbornness. He did not have that ability, nor was there any need for him to change Ferguson, because it had nothing to do with him.
"Sir, have you noticed that your office has become much quieter?
"In the past, whether it was players like Keane and Steve Bruce, or other staff at the club, they would often come to your office after training to chat. You would talk happily about everything. But now, that seems to have disappeared."
Ethan's words stirred something in Ferguson, touching wounds buried deep in his heart.
In fact, Ferguson later privately mentioned that after the team won the treble, the atmosphere inside the club changed a great deal.
The players no longer talked to him about everything the way they used to, and even his most trusted assistants stopped discussing matters outside training with him.
Every day, after arranging the training schedule and handing it over to his assistants, he would return to his office.
He would not close the door.
He would sit there quietly, waiting to see who would appear at the doorway, knock, come in, and talk to him about anything at all.
But strangely, no one ever came.
Why?
Ferguson was a very clever and wise old man, so Ethan did not need to say more. He left him to think for himself, then walked over to find a seat.
This was the launch of Beckham's autobiography, as well as the press conference where Manchester United announced the renewal of Beckham's contract.
With this renewal, Beckham's salary would once again break Manchester United's wage structure. At the same time, Kenyon also announced that over the next two months, they would renew contracts with several key players in the team.
Ethan sat below and listened quietly, but his mind was elsewhere.
With such a significant salary increase after the renewal, New Manchester United's profits would surely be reduced. At that point, Manchester United would probably begin looking at ticket prices again.
The press conference lasted about half an hour.
Afterward, Ethan met Beckham. Since Beckham had invited him, it would have been rude not to see him.
Then Ethan returned directly to the Newton Heath training base.
He did not see Ferguson again throughout the entire process, and he did not know whether Ferguson would change his mind because of what he had just said.
After returning to the club, Ethan had just reached the door of his office when the secretary at the front desk caught up with him and said Kaká had come looking for him earlier.
Since Ethan had brought Kaká to Manchester for treatment, his injury had recovered quickly.
Over the past two months, he had been recovering with the help of the laboratory, undergoing physical strengthening work and dietary adjustments. Kaká's previously rather thin body had begun to grow stronger.
His father had returned to Brazil and was busy with work, only coming to see him occasionally.
Kaká was now staying at Ethan's home. During the day, he went to the Newton Heath training base to train with the first team. That made the young Brazilian feel that his days were fulfilling, and he got along quite well with the team's players, especially Messi and Juninho Pernambucano.
After a period of familiarization, Mourinho greatly admired the Brazilian player's strength and skill. He had repeatedly asked about Kaká and whether the club could keep him.
Although Kaká could not play yet because of his physical condition and work permit issues, he would definitely become an important player for the club in the future.
This reminded Ethan to immediately contact São Paulo in Brazil and ask about buying Kaká.
Although São Paulo were very optimistic about Kaká's prospects, he had never played a single match for their first team. Therefore, when New Manchester United offered £1.5 million, São Paulo agreed without hesitation.
£1.5 million was not a low fee in Brazil, but compared with Kaká's future value, it was nothing.
As for why Kaká's value was so much higher than Juninho Pernambucano's, this was a somewhat absurd phenomenon in Brazilian domestic transfers.
Practical players without star appeal, especially defensive midfielders or central midfielders like Juninho, were not highly valued in Brazil no matter how strong they were. They could not command a high price.
By contrast, talented attacking stars like Denílson and Ronaldinho would be heavily promoted first, regardless of their future prospects. Their value would be inflated to an unbelievable level before they were sold.
Denílson had been a classic example.
Grêmio had recently placed a 50 million dollar price tag on Ronaldinho precisely because Denílson's move to Real Betis had set such an enormous benchmark. Grêmio believed that since Ronaldinho was called "Little Ronaldo," his price should at least be higher than Denílson's.
Ethan had originally thought the matter was settled, but Kaká suddenly coming to find him made him feel a little strange.
(To be continued.)