David Villa lived in Gijón, a port city in northern Spain. His hometown was a village called Tuilla, about 50 miles south of the city.
It was a beautiful place, and Villa always spent part of his holidays there.
Sporting Gijón had once been a strong team in La Liga, but after being relegated in 1998, they had failed to return.
They remained stuck in mid-table in the Segunda División, declaring every year that they would win promotion, but never managing to do so.
Villa had grown up in Sporting's academy.
He was a product of the club's youth system, and it remained the team he loved most.
After being promoted from the academy to the first team the previous year, Villa made 40 league appearances and scored 18 goals.
His performances were excellent, particularly for a player of only 21.
However, despite scoring more goals than Atlético Madrid's Torres, everyone focused on Torres and ignored Villa.
They called Torres "El Niño" and regarded him as the future of Spanish football.
Even Real Madrid had shown an interest in him.
Villa had to admit that Torres was exceptionally talented.
He was a natural footballer and only 17 years old.
Even so, Villa did not believe he was necessarily inferior.
The main difference was that Torres played in Madrid, while Villa played in Gijón.
The Spanish media focused almost entirely on Madrid and Barcelona.
Patricia, Villa's childhood sweetheart, saw him sitting alone on the balcony again, staring towards the green hills and fields in the distance.
She shook her head and smiled.
She believed completely in her boyfriend's ability.
He simply had not attracted enough attention yet.
However, one excellent season did not prove everything.
Many players occasionally enjoyed a remarkable campaign and scored plenty of goals, only to disappear the following year.
That was particularly true for a 21-year-old who had completed only one full season with the first team.
"This is your test, David."
As a former footballer herself, Patricia often comforted him with those words.
Ding. Ding.
The doorbell rang.
Villa looked down from the balcony and saw a black Audi parked outside the family home.
Two men stood near the entrance.
One of them looked up, smiled politely, and nodded towards him.
Patricia went to open the door.
"May I ask who you're looking for?"
"Does David Villa live here?" the young man asked with a smile.
Patricia glanced back at Villa, who was entering the house from the balcony, and nodded.
"Yes. May I help you?"
The man visibly relaxed.
"Fortunately, we asked a taxi driver to bring us here. Otherwise, I doubt we would ever have found the place."
He laughed before handing his business card to Villa as he approached.
"New Manchester United Football Club?"
Villa looked surprised.
Ethan nodded.
"Yes. I assume you've heard of us."
His confidence was well founded.
Villa nodded.
It was impossible not to know the club.
The Red Rebels had attracted enormous attention during the previous season.
They had qualified for the UEFA Cup, announced plans to build a stadium that many of Europe's leading clubs would envy, and signed commercial agreements with several major international companies.
Many people already described New Manchester United as a future Premier League club.
The word "future" remained necessary because they would still be playing in League One that season.
However, they would also represent England in the UEFA Cup, something that seemed far beyond Villa's reach while he remained in Spain's second division.
Villa welcomed the visitors into the house and greeted Ethan and Cassell, who had travelled with him.
The two had come directly from Germany after attending the launch of Lamborghini's Red Rebel sports car.
Mark, meanwhile, had travelled to Lyon to negotiate Malouda's transfer.
"This is a wonderful place," Ethan said, looking through the window.
"The surroundings are beautiful. Compared with an industrial city like Manchester, it has a completely different character."
Whether in Manchester or in the city where he had grown up in his previous life, Ethan had rarely seen such untouched green countryside.
The view left him feeling unusually relaxed.
"I'll be direct, David.
"I believe you have already guessed why we came.
"We want you to play for New Manchester United, and we have already reached an agreement with Sporting Gijón.
"That is why I'm here."
The moment he saw Ethan, Villa had understood how the visitors had found him.
Sporting must already have accepted the transfer proposal and provided Ethan with his address.
The decision now belonged to Villa.
"Mr Yu, I think you should discuss these matters with my agent," Villa reminded him.
To his surprise, Ethan shook his head.
"I understand the proper process.
"But before speaking with your agent, I wanted to speak with you."
"All right, Mr Yu.
"Then I would like to know what your club can offer me."
"Opportunity," Ethan answered confidently.
"Do you know Olić?"
Villa nodded.
It was impossible not to know the Croatian, who had recently joined Bayern Munich for a substantial fee.
Reports claimed that Bayern had signed Olić and a French left-back together for £15 million, while also including the registration of one of their young players in the agreement.
As the left-sided midfielder selected in the World Cup's Best XI, Olić's transfer had attracted even greater attention than Diouf's move to Liverpool.
"When he joined us, he was a young player Hertha Berlin had already rejected.
"He was probably around your age.
"You can see what he has achieved now."
"But Croatia is not Spain, Mr Yu," Villa replied cautiously.
"That's true.
"But today's New Manchester United is not the club that once struggled in the Conference and League Two.
"We will play in the UEFA Cup, and we will reach the Premier League."
Ethan paused.
After noticing the uncertainty in Villa's eyes, he smiled.
"You're worried about something.
"Say it directly, David. I prefer honesty."
Villa hesitated before answering.
"To be honest, Mr Yu, I've heard that English football is extremely physical and played at a very high tempo.
"Spanish teams place more emphasis on technique, play more slowly, and usually leave more space.
"I'm worried I may not adapt to English football."
Ethan laughed.
"I understand.
"You're afraid, David."
Villa's ears turned red.
"No. I'm just... slightly concerned."
"Concerned?"
Ethan laughed even more.
"Then I should be far more concerned than you.
"I have agreed to pay £1 million for your transfer, and I will also be responsible for your salary.
"If you cannot adapt to English football, I will lose much more than you.
"So why am I not worried?"
Villa fell silent.
He had to admit that Ethan's argument made sense.
"No professional footballer reaches the top without facing difficulties.
"If you want to succeed, you must accept risks.
"You cannot remain at Sporting Gijón forever, hoping that one day the club will suddenly become Real Madrid or Barcelona.
"That will not happen.
"If you want to achieve something greater, you will eventually have to leave Sporting.
"So tell me, when that moment arrives, what will you do?"
Villa could not answer.
"As for adapting, our club has a complete programme and excellent facilities to help new players.
"As long as you trust us, we will not abandon you.
"That has always been the Red Rebels' way."
Ethan deliberately gave Villa time to consider his words.
Once the Spaniard had thought about them, Ethan continued.
"I've already spoken with Mourinho.
"We cannot guarantee you a place in the starting lineup because no player at New Manchester United receives such a guarantee.
"Drogba was our undisputed first-choice striker last season, but he earned that position by working harder than everyone else in training and giving more than anyone during matches.
"He deserved it."
"I cannot promise you a starting place either, David.
"You will have to earn it.
"If you believe that is too great a risk, then I'm sorry, but I will not change my position.
"I will not deceive a player simply to persuade him to sign, even if that honesty causes you to reject us.
"You can earn the place you want only through your performances in training and matches."
Villa had never heard anyone involved in a transfer speak so frankly.
He had always imagined that clubs trying to recruit a player would offer endless praise and make every possible promise.
Ethan promised him nothing.
Yet somehow, Villa found him even more convincing because of it.
No club would continue selecting a player who trained poorly and performed badly.
That would apply even to a superstar such as Ronaldo.
"I hope you will seriously consider our proposal," Ethan said.
"Take this step, and I believe you will eventually achieve what you want."
That brought their conversation to an end.
Villa escorted the two visitors to the gate.
Throughout the walk, he continued thinking about Ethan's words, his future, and whether a transfer would finally give him the opportunity to prove himself.
After Ethan and Cassell entered the car, Villa suddenly approached and knocked on the window beside Ethan.
"Mr Yu..."
Villa hesitated briefly before speaking with determination.
"I'll ask my agent to contact you.
"I'm glad you came all this way to find me."
He extended his hand.
Ethan smiled, shook it, and nodded.
"Don't worry, David. I never make a journey without a reason.
"I came because you were worth finding."
Cassell drove away, and the black Audi disappeared along the road, leaving a cloud of dust behind it.
Only a few miles later, Ethan's telephone began ringing.
It was Mark.
Lyon president Aulas, famous for his reluctance to spend, had finally accepted New Manchester United's terms.
With Lens strengthening aggressively, Lyon urgently wanted Malouda to improve their attacking options on the left.
They therefore had little choice but to accept the Red Rebels' asking price of £6.5 million.
After ending the call, Ethan laughed and shook his head.
Extracting that much money from Aulas felt like an achievement in itself.
However, Ethan had promised Mourinho that he would bring him someone even better suited to the team than Malouda.
"Jim, it appears we need to change our route."
(To be continued.)
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