Anyone familiar with European football understood one thing very clearly.
The transfer market was a battlefield.
If the league season was the war itself, then the transfer window was the arms race beforehand.
Signing a player your rival desperately needed could weaken them while strengthening your own squad at the same time.
That was exactly what Europe's biggest clubs were doing now.
And who was the hottest name on the market that summer?
David Beckham.
Manchester United had effectively made him available, and no other player attracted more attention.
Barcelona appeared to be the favourites.
Joan Laporta had borrowed a page from Florentino Pérez's old presidential campaign strategy, using Beckham as a major election promise.
Manchester United, eager to move their biggest star, had even reached an agreement with Laporta before he had been elected president.
That decision drew widespread criticism from both football insiders and supporters.
Behind Beckham came Ronaldinho.
The Paris Saint-Germain star was being watched by Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, and several other major clubs.
The Brazilian was almost certain to join one of Europe's giants that summer.
With PSG's owners facing financial problems, keeping him looked increasingly unrealistic.
The only question was where he would go.
Then there was Chelsea.
Roman Abramovich's takeover had suddenly placed hundreds of millions of pounds behind the club.
Apart from Beckham and Ronaldinho, Chelsea were becoming one of the biggest stories of the transfer window.
The real question was what kind of players they could persuade to join them.
Ethan probably understood Abramovich's ambition better than most.
He knew Chelsea would spend heavily.
But history had already begun moving away from what he remembered.
Real Madrid were the clearest example.
After agreeing a new deal with Makélélé, the club also renewed Fernando Hierro and Vicente del Bosque, kept Morientes, and began seriously pursuing both centre-backs and creative midfielders.
As for their interest in Ronaldinho and Beckham, Ethan understood Florentino's strategy with the Brazilian.
Beckham was harder to explain.
There was no doubt Beckham could contribute as a creative midfielder.
But Manchester United still wanted around £25 million for him.
Very few clubs in Europe could afford that.
Real Madrid could, but only at the cost of sacrificing other transfer priorities and possibly selling several players.
Laporta, meanwhile, was gaining momentum in Barcelona's presidential election largely because of Beckham's name.
But Barcelona's own board had already announced that the club's debts had reached approximately €98 million.
They simply did not have the money to spend freely.
Johan Cruyff also made his position clear in his newspaper column.
He did not believe Beckham was what Barcelona needed.
"Unless Barcelona intend to play English-style direct football next season, I don't understand why signing Beckham should be a priority.
"The most urgent areas are defence, central midfield, and the wings."
Cruyff also named two midfielders he believed could fit Barcelona.
Deco.
Juninho.
In his view, both possessed the quality required.
Deco had been outstanding for Porto.
Juninho had never played in one of Europe's traditional top leagues, but Cruyff believed his ability was no worse.
And his set-piece delivery was exceptional.
For the wing, Cruyff specifically recommended Sporting Lisbon's Ricardo Quaresma.
He considered the young Portuguese attacker a potential long-term successor to Figo and believed Barcelona should move before his price rose.
While Europe's transfer market became increasingly chaotic, Beckham himself was trying to get away from it.
He and Victoria had gone on holiday and were preparing for a commercial trip through Asia.
Ethan spoke with him once by phone.
Beckham clearly did not want to discuss transfers.
He simply said that his representatives would deal with everything and told Ethan not to worry.
Even so, Ethan felt Manchester United were badly mishandling the situation.
And when reporters asked for his opinion, he did not hold back.
...
"I've said this before.
"Transfers are normal.
"If a club wants to sell a player and use the money to strengthen elsewhere, that's football.
"I understand that completely.
"But what I want to know is this.
"On what basis did Manchester United sign an agreement with Joan Laporta?"
Ethan suddenly laughed.
"Is he Barcelona president?"
The reporter shook his head.
"Exactly.
"He's a candidate.
"If Laporta privately reached an understanding with Beckham's representatives, that's different. Those conversations happen all the time.
"But Manchester United officially negotiating this kind of arrangement with someone who hasn't even won the election yet?
"I honestly don't understand it.
"Are they worried nobody wants Beckham, so they're trying to push him out as quickly as possible?"
The reporter smiled.
Ethan continued.
"It's terrible business.
"They're destroying their own player's value.
"Barcelona say they don't have the money.
"Cruyff says they don't need Beckham.
"And the agreement Laporta signed with Manchester United may never mean anything at all.
"So what happens next?"
"Reduce the price?" the reporter joked.
"Like a supermarket trying to clear stock?"
Ethan pointed at him.
"Exactly."
Then his expression hardened.
"But David Beckham isn't clearance stock.
"He's a human being.
"He's one of the biggest stars Manchester United's academy has ever produced.
"Is this really how they want to treat one of their own?"
Ethan shook his head.
"If that's the case, then Manchester United are fucking crazy for money."
...
The interview dominated England's sports pages the following morning.
Ethan's attack on Manchester United attracted particular attention.
Some United supporters criticised him.
Others remained silent.
And quite a few openly agreed.
Had Beckham actually done anything wrong?
Manchester United's official explanation was that Beckham had begun placing England and his own interests above the club.
Many commentators immediately challenged that argument.
Where was the evidence?
The only example United could point to was Beckham attending an audience with the Queen while injured.
But the entire England squad had been invited.
Beckham was the national-team captain.
Of course he attended.
What else was there?
Nothing.
Beckham had not secretly negotiated a transfer elsewhere.
He had never publicly demanded to leave Manchester United.
He had not signed an agreement with another club.
Yes, he had asked for a better contract.
So had plenty of others.
Yes, he had broken discipline before.
But Roy Keane had caused far greater problems.
Andy Cole had clashed with Ferguson.
Cantona certainly had.
Plenty of important players had crossed the manager at one time or another.
Why had they been forgiven?
The reality was obvious.
Manchester United needed money.
Ferguson wanted funds to refresh the squad.
So the club needed to sell one of its most valuable assets.
And nobody was worth more on the market than Beckham.
Ethan had no problem with that in principle.
Selling a star player to finance rebuilding was normal.
What he could not understand was why Manchester United had handled the process so badly.
Reaching an agreement with Laporta before he was even elected was strange enough.
Publicly confirming that such an agreement existed was worse.
Ethan did not know whether Abramovich had already spoken with Peter Kenyon.
He also did not know what Kenyon's exact thinking had been in handling Beckham's transfer.
But one thing was certain.
Manchester United had made a serious mistake.
Selling Beckham was not the problem.
Undermining his value before selling him was.
After Ethan's interview appeared, Manchester United released another statement.
The club confirmed that it had received an approach from Spain and was considering accepting it.
The wording was carefully vague.
But in practice, it only strengthened the belief that Laporta's agreement was real.
Laporta immediately used Beckham's name even more aggressively in his campaign.
Sky Sports later placed footage of Laporta campaigning with Beckham's name beside Manchester United's statement.
The result looked almost like satire.
One of the biggest clubs in England had somehow become part of a Barcelona presidential campaign.
And what happened if no other major club made a serious offer?
Manchester United would have to lower the price again.
There were even rumours that Florentino had privately told associates that if everyone simply waited long enough, United might eventually sell Beckham for as little as £10 million.
Because by now, everyone knew the transfer had become almost unavoidable.
Manchester United had trapped themselves.
If Beckham left, the club would suffer reputational damage but at least receive money.
If he stayed, they would have damaged both the player and their own image without earning anything.
That was why the criticism had become so severe.
The entire process looked amateurish.
Florentino remained extremely interested in Beckham.
But he was in no hurry.
He was perfectly willing to let Manchester United and Barcelona continue making a mess of things.
He understood Laporta's real strategy.
Barcelona were not truly building their transfer plans around Beckham.
Laporta was using his name to win votes.
Barcelona's primary footballing target was Ronaldinho.
Florentino had no intention of making that easy either.
Real Madrid were also interested in Ronaldinho.
And Deco.
And Juninho.
The rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona had always extended into the transfer market.
That summer was proving no different.
Then Beckham finally responded from the United States.
He publicly stated that he had no intention of moving to Barcelona.
He said the transfer rumours had nothing to do with him and reminded everyone that he was still under contract with Manchester United.
He was clearly angry.
Angry with Manchester United.
Angry with Laporta.
And not especially pleased with Cruyff's criticism either.
More importantly, Beckham's advisors had already studied Barcelona carefully.
Their conclusion was straightforward.
The team did not particularly suit him.
If Barcelona was ruled out, the list of realistic destinations became much shorter.
And one name stood above the rest.
Real Madrid.
Florentino, however, continued to wait.
With Makélélé and the other renewals settled, Real Madrid turned their attention towards defence.
Negotiations began with Roma over Walter Samuel.
The Argentine centre-back had been outstanding in Serie A.
Signing him would immediately strengthen Madrid's back line.
But Roma wanted around €30 million.
That was roughly equivalent to Beckham's current asking price.
For Florentino, that created a genuine dilemma.
He had never liked spending enormous sums on defenders.
And if Real Madrid paid Roma's asking price for Samuel, there might not be enough money left to sign Beckham.
Samuel or Beckham?
For once, Florentino had a difficult choice to make.
(To be continued.)