If there was one league that had dominated the European transfer market over the previous two summers, it was undoubtedly the Premier League. Chelsea's sudden rise under Roman Abramovich had injected enormous sums of money into European football, and while several clubs had been forced to part with important players, the fees they received also gave many financially troubled sides some much-needed breathing room.
After signing stars such as Crespo, Verón, Mutu, and Stam the previous summer, Chelsea had still failed to establish themselves as the dominant force Abramovich expected, eventually finishing third in the Premier League. That result left the Russian owner deeply dissatisfied. Rumours about Claudio Ranieri's future had begun almost from the opening weeks of the season and never truly disappeared. Although the Italian managed to survive until the campaign ended, it was obvious to almost everyone that his departure was only a matter of time.
Once the Premier League season finished, the biggest question surrounding Chelsea was therefore not whether Ranieri would leave, but who would replace him. José Mourinho, fresh from leading New Manchester United to a Premier League and UEFA Cup double, was widely regarded as Abramovich's preferred choice. Abramovich even contacted Ethan personally, only to receive a firm rejection, while Mourinho himself had no interest in moving to Stamford Bridge. After four years of building New Manchester United and finally winning the Premier League, he saw no reason to abandon the project just as it was beginning to bear fruit.
As Mourinho later said in an interview, he already possessed almost everything a manager could want. At Newton Heath he had complete authority over the first team, a board that trusted him, and a squad packed with young players he had helped develop himself. Why would he give that up for a job where ownership might interfere directly with his football decisions?
After the season, Ethan contacted Jorge Mendes to discuss new contracts for both Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo. Mendes' business had expanded rapidly. Porto's strong Champions League campaign had put several of their players in the shop window, and as offers arrived from across Europe, Mendes' influence within Portuguese football grew with them. Yet whenever he dealt with Ethan, he still showed the same careful respect he had displayed years earlier.
After more than two years of working together, Mendes understood Ethan's boundaries very well. The thing Ethan disliked most was an agent quietly unsettling players or staff in order to manufacture a transfer. At the same time, he was hardly unreasonable. New Manchester United paid well, treated its players generously, and invested heavily in areas that most clubs barely considered.
The club's financial-management programme was one example. Players who wanted help managing their earnings were given access to professional advisers and carefully structured investments that had produced strong long-term returns. Commercial development was another. Even Mourinho had recently received an endorsement deal from Armani, reflecting just how valuable the Portuguese manager's public image had become.
Ethan had only one firm condition when it came to outside endorsements: commercial work could never interfere with training or matches. Agents were expected to reject any arrangement that damaged a player's sporting preparation, regardless of how attractive the fee might be.
That restriction was hardly a problem. New Manchester United's players were not short of opportunities. Adidas alone paid significant endorsement money to several members of the squad, while the club's commercial department regularly secured additional partnerships for individual players on top of their salaries.
As a result, most agents had little incentive to antagonise the club. Many had known Ethan personally for years, and some had become close friends.
Curtis' father, for example, represented his son and had maintained a strong relationship with Ethan since the club's early days. He also represented Drogba, Essien, Terry, and De Rossi, creating a core group of players whose relationships with the club were unusually stable.
Kaká's father, Bosco, handled his son's affairs and openly regarded Ethan as someone who had changed his family's life. He frequently spoke about what might have happened to Kaká's career without New Manchester United's intervention, making outside attempts to unsettle the Brazilian extremely difficult. Kaká himself had shown no desire to leave.
Messi's father, Jorge, had followed a similar path. With Ethan's encouragement, he had studied the business side of football and gradually learned to handle his son's career professionally. The entire family had built their lives around Manchester, and there was little reason for them to look elsewhere.
Then there was Mendes, who represented both Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ethan had helped him when he was still a relatively small Portuguese agent, long before he became one of the most influential figures in his country's football. Mendes had never forgotten that.
Those overlapping relationships gave New Manchester United an unusually strong position with both players and representatives. The arrangement worked because both sides benefited, making Chelsea's attempts to lure Mourinho or other key figures away largely futile.
Once Mourinho was ruled out, Abramovich turned to two other candidates: Louis van Gaal, then working at Ajax, and AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti. Both had elite reputations, although Ancelotti soon emerged as the more serious target.
After failing to attract Mourinho, Chelsea pursued Ancelotti aggressively. Abramovich offered him an enormous salary and, more importantly, promised a transfer budget large enough to rebuild the squad according to his own ideas. Milan's increasingly cautious spending, combined with frequent intervention from Berlusconi and Galliani, had already begun to frustrate Ancelotti. After more than two weeks of negotiations, he finally decided to leave Italy for London, with Chelsea paying Milan substantial compensation.
Ethan heard about the move before it became public and was not particularly surprised. There were only a handful of managers available who could realistically replace Ranieri while satisfying Abramovich's ambitions, and Ancelotti was one of the obvious choices. If it had not been him, Ethan suspected Chelsea would have gone all in for Van Gaal.
What surprised him was what followed.
The English media spent most of the summer linking Chelsea with Van Gaal, largely because the club seemed happy to let those rumours circulate. Ancelotti's name received far less attention. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Chelsea began rebuilding the squad at extraordinary speed.
The biggest move was Andriy Shevchenko. Chelsea agreed a €53 million deal with AC Milan for the Ukrainian striker, a transfer Ancelotti had personally requested. He also wanted Verón and Crespo retained, believing both had roles in his system.
Ancelotti then asked for a powerful defensive midfielder. Although Edgar Davids had been heavily linked with Chelsea, the Italian preferred Roma's Emerson, and Chelsea quickly completed a deal worth around €29 million.
At centre-back, Ancelotti wanted another experienced defender to complement Stam. His preferred target was Fabio Cannavaro, who had endured an injury-plagued spell at Inter and had grown increasingly frustrated by the club's lack of progress. Chelsea agreed a fee of roughly €15 million.
That was more than Juventus would have paid for him under normal circumstances, but Chelsea's reputation for spending freely meant every selling club added a premium.
Cannavaro was not the only defensive signing. Chelsea also bought Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira from Porto, deals that together cost more than €30 million.
Then came Deco.
The Portuguese playmaker had become one of the most sought-after midfielders in Europe after his performances over the previous two seasons, and Chelsea secured him for about €21 million.
Suddenly, their midfield looked extraordinary. Lampard, Deco, Verón, and Emerson gave Ancelotti an array of options that compared favourably with almost anything in England, even Manchester United's established core of Giggs, Scholes, and Keane.
The forward line was just as extravagant. Shevchenko joined Crespo and Mutu, while Chelsea also signed Mateja Kežman from PSV Eindhoven. On paper, the attacking depth was frightening.
Defensively, Stam, Cannavaro, and Carvalho gave Ancelotti three elite centre-backs. Goalkeeper was the one position that still raised questions, so Chelsea moved again, signing Timo Hildebrand from Stuttgart after his excellent Bundesliga season.
By the time the deals were announced, Chelsea's spending had passed €150 million.
Europe was stunned.
Abramovich's Chelsea had already earned a reputation for lavish investment, but this was on another scale entirely. With Ancelotti arriving and a procession of proven internationals following him, Chelsea immediately became one of the most heavily discussed title contenders for the new season.
At his unveiling, Ancelotti made the objective clear.
"I've come here to win the Premier League."
Compared with Chelsea's spending spree, New Manchester United's summer was almost silent. Agüero's promotion from the academy attracted little attention outside specialist circles. The loans of Džeko and Mascherano to Droylsden were treated as minor development moves. The only significant transfer story surrounding the club was renewed interest from AC Milan in Palacio, and even that had not progressed beyond enquiries.
Arsenal were similarly restrained. Wenger signed Robin van Persie from Feyenoord and Mathieu Flamini from Marseille, two promising additions that generated far less attention than Chelsea's headline purchases.
Manchester United, however, were much more active.
They first signed Alan Smith from relegated Leeds United, then spent £27 million on Wayne Rooney from Everton. Combined with Van Nistelrooy and Saha, Ferguson suddenly had four high-level strikers to choose from.
The previous season had exposed problems in wide areas and shown that Manchester United's midfield no longer possessed quite the balance of the famous Beckham, Keane, Scholes, and Giggs quartet. Ferguson clearly intended to address that.
His first move was Ricardo Quaresma from Sporting CP. Quaresma's talent was obvious, but his tendency towards individualism and showmanship made some observers question whether he could adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
Ferguson did not stop there.
Aware that Giggs and Scholes were getting older, Manchester United completed an ambitious double deal with Santos for Robinho and Diego. Diego's Italian citizenship meant he could register immediately, while Robinho would require a work permit, most likely through the exceptional-talent route.
Ferguson also strengthened the defence by signing Gabriel Heinze from Paris Saint-Germain.
When Ethan saw the scale of Manchester United's spending, one question immediately occurred to him.
Where had the money come from?
Ever since the Rock of Gibraltar dispute, Ferguson's relationship with parts of the Manchester United ownership structure had become increasingly strained. Magnier and others were known to be considering selling their shares while the club's valuation remained high, and the Glazer family had already accumulated a significant position.
Ethan's first thought was that Manchester United might already have changed hands, or at least moved much closer to a takeover than the public realised.
Before he could investigate further, another major transfer story broke across Europe.
(To be continued.)