The day after Ethan received Berlusconi's telephone call, AC Milan, which had remained silent throughout the controversy surrounding Redondo, announced a press conference.
The club confirmed that Fernando Redondo would join League One side New Manchester United for a symbolic fee of £1.
The announcement stunned the media.
Reporters immediately pressed Galliani to explain Milan's decision.
He said the club had been monitoring Redondo's condition closely and believed the midfielder would receive more suitable treatment and a less pressurised rehabilitation environment with the Red Rebels.
AC Milan wished Redondo a speedy recovery and hoped he would eventually return to the pitch.
Galliani also stressed that the doors of the San Siro would always remain open to him.
That afternoon, New Manchester United held a press conference of their own and formally announced Redondo's arrival for the same symbolic £1 fee.
Redondo still refused to accept a player's salary until he was fit enough to play.
The Red Rebels therefore offered him a part-time coaching contract instead and paid him through that agreement.
New Manchester United handled the announcement with complete sincerity.
They thanked AC Milan for their goodwill and confirmed that the negotiations had been conducted in a friendly and respectful atmosphere.
The two clubs also intended to explore other areas of cooperation, particularly charitable projects.
Both were sponsored by Adidas, which created further opportunities for collaboration.
That was not the end of the story.
Two days later, Berlusconi and Ethan appeared together at the Italian headquarters of an international charity.
During the event, they presented the organisation's chairman with a cheque for £11 million.
Responding to questions from the press, Berlusconi said he had always supported charitable causes and hoped the donation would encourage more people to become involved.
He also described Ethan as an outstanding young man.
Their conversations during the negotiations over Redondo had introduced Berlusconi to several fresh perspectives, which he believed could benefit both his political work and his management of AC Milan.
Ethan was equally generous in his praise of Berlusconi and expressed his hope that the two sides could cooperate in other areas.
Both men shared a commitment to charitable work, which Ethan regarded as an excellent foundation for a lasting relationship.
Later that day, New Manchester United transferred the full £11 million to the charity.
The donation was made jointly in the names of Fernando Redondo, AC Milan, and the Red Rebels.
A club spokesman said they hoped the money would help people in poorer and less-developed regions overcome genuine hardship.
That, he said, was more meaningful than spending it on anything else.
The joint donation attracted enormous attention.
Many newspapers described it as an important moment for philanthropy in football and called upon more clubs to support similar causes.
Football had received so much from society and its supporters.
It was only right that the game should give something back.
...
With the matter finally resolved, Ethan could at last begin the holiday he had postponed for more than a week.
His first destination was the Caribbean, somewhere he had wanted to visit for years.
By coincidence, Eva was filming nearby with the production crew of Pirates of the Caribbean.
When she heard that Ethan was coming, she was delighted.
She immediately arranged his hotel and began planning his itinerary, promising that he would enjoy himself so much that he would never want to leave.
Ethan spent a comfortable fortnight in the Caribbean.
He even switched off his telephone and enjoyed the rare opportunity to spend peaceful time alone with Eva.
New Manchester United's schedule was relatively light during that period.
There were no matches at the beginning of September.
The league campaign and the first round of the UEFA Cup proper, which remained a knockout competition, would not resume until the middle of the month.
The UEFA Cup format at the time differed from the system introduced in later years.
Every round was contested over two legs.
There was no group stage, even as the competition progressed towards the final thirty-two teams, because of the enormous number of participating clubs.
UEFA had long discussed introducing a group phase and improving the overall quality of the competition.
However, any major reform remained several years away.
In Ethan's previous life, a group stage would finally be introduced for the 2004/05 season.
Forty clubs would be divided into eight groups of five.
The top three teams from each group would advance and be joined in the round of thirty-two by the eight clubs finishing third in their Champions League groups.
For the moment, those places were decided through additional two-legged knockout rounds instead.
After defeating Avenir Beggen 7-0 away in Luxembourg, New Manchester United won the return leg 4-0 and comfortably advanced to the first round proper.
Ipswich performed even more ruthlessly.
They defeated opponents from Andorra 17-1 on aggregate, producing one of the most extraordinary scorelines of the qualifying stage.
The progress of both League One clubs attracted some attention in England.
Even so, nobody regarded qualification as a major achievement.
Failure to advance would have been far more surprising.
New Manchester United's opponents in the first round proper were FK Željezničar of the Bosnian Premier League.
They were one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most historic clubs.
In recent seasons, they had consistently finished among the top three domestically.
Although they had not recently won the title, their quality could not be underestimated.
After two weeks in the Caribbean, Ethan did not return directly to Manchester.
He contacted the club, received an update on the team and their UEFA Cup opponents, and spoke with Mourinho to confirm that everything was under control.
Then he travelled straight to the United States.
For some time, Steve Jobs had complained that Ethan was failing to fulfil his responsibilities as an Apple director.
Taking advantage of the rare gap in his schedule, Ethan contacted Jobs and announced that he would attend the opening of a new Apple Store.
Jobs was both surprised and delighted.
Afraid that Ethan might change his mind, he immediately instructed his assistant to arrange the flight.
Sitting aboard the aircraft bound for the United States, Ethan felt refreshed after his holiday.
He was in an excellent mood.
With nothing else to do, he asked a flight attendant for paper and a pen and began sketching ideas for the second-generation Red Rebels supercar he had promised Gandini.
This time, the work came more naturally.
After spending so much time with Gandini, Ethan had learned a considerable amount about automotive design.
The process was therefore smoother and more assured.
He incorporated several classic elements from sports cars he had admired in his previous life, then used his imagination to redesign them with a more distinctive identity.
The first Red Rebels supercar had caused a sensation.
Ethan believed the second generation would be more mature, more refined, and clear evidence of how much he had improved as a designer.
He understood perfectly that his greatest advantage remained his knowledge of ideas that were still several years ahead of their time.
Following the launch of the original Red Rebels supercar, Lamborghini had made New Manchester United the official face of the model.
That partnership had also increased the club's profile.
Ethan believed the second generation could push the Red Rebels name even further into the world of high-performance cars.
He also sketched several concepts for Audi.
Some were based on models he remembered from future years, while others were original saloon designs that remained close to Audi's established visual language.
Nothing about the work seemed particularly strange to him.
Once he had finished, Ethan relaxed and began thinking about New Manchester United.
Mourinho had told him the team remained in excellent form.
The summer signings were all demonstrating considerable ability, particularly Kaká.
His understanding with Juninho was already outstanding.
Kaká had arguably become New Manchester United's most important player during the opening weeks of the season, and his performances had been exceptional.
As for Željezničar, Mourinho had instructed Villas-Boas to study them in detail.
Barring an unexpected disaster, he did not believe they would present an insurmountable obstacle.
"Željezničar... Bosnia and Herzegovina..."
Ethan suddenly remembered someone.
The club's name had sounded familiar from the moment the draw was made, but he had not immediately understood why.
The instant his flight landed, Ethan switched on his telephone and called Villas-Boas.
"Hello, André. Are you in Bosnia at the moment?"
He was already travelling towards Apple's headquarters in a car arranged by Jobs.
"Yes, Boss. Is something wrong?" Villas-Boas asked, surprised by the unexpected call.
Ethan paused briefly.
"I need you to find a player named Edin Džeko.
"He is sixteen and currently plays in Željezničar's youth system.
"Take a close look at him for me."
To Ethan's surprise, Villas-Boas laughed.
"There's no need to search for him, Boss. I already know who he is.
"He's tall and strong and currently plays in midfield.
"He trains with Željezničar, although he has not signed a formal contract with them.
"I noticed him while watching one of their sessions."
"Really? What do you think of him?" Ethan asked with a smile.
If Džeko had already attracted Villas-Boas's attention, then his talent had clearly been visible even at that age.
"His technique is good, he's tall and physically strong, and he has reasonable pace.
"However, his passing vision is limited."
Villas-Boas was naturally evaluating him as a midfielder.
Ethan laughed.
That was hardly surprising.
Who could have imagined that the sixteen-year-old midfielder would eventually become one of Europe's most complete and sought-after centre-forwards?
"Listen carefully, André.
"I think he should be playing up front as a centre-forward, more like Shevchenko.
"I want you to bring him to Manchester.
"One day, he could become a devastating goalscorer."
Ethan spoke with complete certainty.
Villas-Boas was surprised by his confidence, but Džeko had not signed a professional agreement with Željezničar.
If New Manchester United moved quickly, they would probably need to pay only a modest development fee.
By Bosnian standards, it might amount to no more than a few thousand pounds.
"All right, Boss. Leave it to me.
"By the time you return, Edin Džeko will be at Newton Heath."
Ethan ended the call with a satisfied smile.
New Manchester United already had Drogba, Villa, and Palacio in the first team.
Behind them were prospects such as Ishmael, Pato, Walcott, and now Edin Džeko.
The thought of so many future forwards developing inside the Red Rebels' own academy filled Ethan with anticipation.
He really was becoming the ultimate collector of wonderkids.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)