"At 10:00 this morning, the Financial Services Authority announced that it would launch a full investigation into allegations that Manchester United may have improperly influenced its share price through statements concerning David Beckham's transfer.
"Several members of Manchester United's board are expected to be asked to assist with the investigation.
"Under Financial Services Authority regulations, any listed company wishing to release a market-sensitive statement over the weekend must first notify at least two national newspapers or television broadcasters before issuing an official statement at 7:00 on the following Monday.
"Manchester United, however, released ambiguous information last Saturday and did not provide a detailed clarification to the stock market until 8:30 on Monday morning.
"Only two days have passed since Manchester United's announcement, but the club's share price has already risen by 7.6 percent and continues to climb.
"As Manchester United's most marketable player and one of the biggest stars in world football, Beckham's transfer value is enormous. Speculation that his departure could generate a major transfer fee has naturally attracted considerable attention from investors.
"According to the FSA's statement, Manchester United will first be required to submit a written explanation for its handling of the announcement. The regulator will then determine whether any rules were breached and whether disciplinary action or financial penalties are appropriate."
...
Ethan watched the morning news from his office with a grim expression.
Recently, he had developed the habit of starting his day with the news so he could keep track of developments outside the club.
He had not expected anything this explosive.
Share-price manipulation.
Ethan was not completely familiar with the legal details, but Manchester United's stock really had risen by 7.6 percent.
He had spent enough time investing in financial markets to understand what that meant.
Manchester United now needed to prove that the problem had merely been a procedural mistake and that there had been no intention to manipulate the market.
Otherwise, the club could be in serious trouble.
Ferguson was a football man.
He knew football.
He was hardly an expert on securities regulations or stock-market disclosure requirements.
And Ethan did not believe Ferguson would ever deliberately announce beforehand that Beckham absolutely had to be sold.
Any rational businessman could see how stupid that would be.
The moment everyone knew you were desperate to sell, buyers would immediately start forcing the price down.
It destroyed your negotiating position.
As for the exact agreement Manchester United had reached with Laporta, Ethan did not know the details.
But he was certain Laporta had secured favourable terms.
The wider football economy was in terrible shape.
Several major broadcasting companies had collapsed the previous year.
At one point, even television coverage of the Korea-Japan World Cup had faced serious uncertainty.
The Premier League had been relatively insulated, but clubs below the top flight had suffered badly as broadcasting income fell.
Even Europe's biggest clubs were under financial pressure.
At the same time, player wages had continued rising.
Reducing wage bills had therefore become one of the dominant themes of the summer transfer market.
Jaap Stam wanted to leave Lazio partly because the club was trying to reduce salaries.
Walter Samuel was being linked with Real Madrid because Roma were facing serious financial problems and could be forced to cut wages.
Even AC Milan, fresh from winning the Champions League, had publicly admitted that Beckham was too expensive for them.
Only £25 million.
Yet that figure was enough to eliminate a large number of Europe's traditional giants.
That was how weak the football economy had become.
Ethan knew from his previous life that the market would not collapse completely.
Chelsea were about to change everything.
Abramovich's enormous spending would inject money into the transfer market, rescuing several financially troubled clubs directly or indirectly and helping European football through a difficult period.
At the moment, Beckham appeared to have only three realistic destinations.
Barcelona.
Real Madrid.
AC Milan.
Milan had effectively withdrawn.
They had pursued Beckham for years, but now there were two problems.
First, they did not have enough money.
Second, Beckham's personal sponsorship agreement with Vodafone conflicted with AC Milan's commercial arrangements.
If Beckham joined Milan, somebody would have to deal with the financial consequences of ending or restructuring that contract.
Who would pay for it?
Barcelona were nearly €100 million in debt and had little room to spend heavily.
There was also disagreement inside the club over whether Beckham even suited their football.
And Beckham himself had been angered by Laporta using his name as part of an election campaign.
He had reportedly made his position clear.
He would rather stay at Manchester United and sit in the stands than move to Barcelona.
There were also rumours from inside Old Trafford that if Beckham refused to leave, he might spend the following season on the bench.
Ferguson did not comment publicly.
But everyone could see that the relationship between manager and player had broken down beyond repair.
Ferguson wanted Beckham sold because he needed the transfer fee to pursue Ronaldinho.
As for Beckham's teammates, almost all of them remained silent.
Only Phil Neville had publicly supported him.
Ironically, Ethan knew that Neville himself would eventually be pushed out by Ferguson and sent to Everton two years later.
At a time like this, nobody wanted to say too much.
Not even Roy Keane.
...
"Ferguson's basic idea wasn't wrong," Ethan sighed.
"The idiots running the business side just handled it terribly."
Manchester United had long been held up as the commercial model for modern football clubs.
Who would have expected them to create such a farce?
One of the biggest stars in world football was being displayed like merchandise in a shop window.
Manchester United were even said to be actively encouraging more clubs to make offers, hoping competition between buyers would drive Beckham's fee back up.
It was beginning to resemble an auction.
Several senior figures around the Premier League publicly criticised United's behaviour.
Alex Fynn, one of the influential figures involved in the Premier League's early development, was particularly harsh.
His concern went beyond Manchester United itself.
At a time when broadcasters were already trying to negotiate lower rights fees because of the economic downturn, the Premier League's most commercially famous club was pushing its most marketable player out of England.
Broadcasters could easily use Beckham's departure as another argument for paying less.
"United are unstable internally too," Cassell said.
"Ferguson and John Magnier are at war with each other.
"There are even rumours Ferguson could take Magnier to court.
"If that happens, the club could descend into complete chaos."
Manchester United's commercial empire had ultimately become trapped by its own commercial interests.
Ethan knew this was only the beginning.
"AC Milan are concentrating entirely on signing Cafu now," Mark David said.
"Beckham isn't part of their plans anymore.
"Real Madrid are looking at Ronaldinho, Walter Samuel, and Xabi Alonso.
"Beckham isn't even their first priority at the moment.
"The entire football world is watching Manchester United make a mess of this."
From a commercial perspective, David was certain United were going to lose money.
"Two months ago, Beckham was valued at around £40 million.
"Then Manchester United quietly indicated that £30 million might be enough.
"Now the agreement with Laporta is reportedly worth only £25 million.
"But Barcelona don't really intend to buy him, Beckham doesn't want to go there, and the price is still falling."
At that stage, Beckham's supposed commercial value did little to strengthen Manchester United's bargaining position.
Everyone already knew the transfer had to happen.
Even Beckham's father had begun publicly criticising Ferguson.
He claimed David had barely spoken to the manager for six months and accused Ferguson of forcing his son out of Old Trafford.
"From my calculations," David continued, "the Beckham brand alone is worth somewhere around £200 million commercially.
"Handled properly, a transfer could ultimately generate as much as £500 million in wider value.
"And now Manchester United might sell him for less than £20 million."
His eyes lit up.
"That's an extraordinary opportunity."
David was a businessman.
He understood Beckham's appeal perfectly.
And he was excited for one obvious reason.
New Manchester United could afford him.
Ethan had the money.
The club itself had also generated a profit over the previous year.
And if Ethan wanted to make the deal happen, he could negotiate with sponsors beforehand.
David was convinced companies such as Adidas, Vodafone, and Audi would be delighted to see Beckham associated with New Manchester United.
Watching David's excitement, Ethan almost laughed.
Nobody understood Beckham's long-term value better than he did.
But money was only one part of the equation.
If this were purely a commercial decision, the answer would be easy.
"You're worried about how we'd use him tactically, aren't you?" Mourinho asked with a smile.
He was preparing to leave for his summer holiday and had come in that day to discuss transfer plans with Ethan.
Ethan nodded.
"That's your decision."
He had always refused to interfere with Mourinho's formations or tactical choices.
Ethan handled recruitment and negotiations.
Mourinho decided what kind of players he needed.
Even then, Mourinho would usually identify the position and profile first, Ethan would produce a shortlist, and Mourinho would make the final choice.
Right-back was a good example.
Mourinho preferred Maicon.
So Ethan had already decided that Dani Alves would go out on loan in Portugal while Maicon joined the first-team squad for preseason.
"Senna is going to Villarreal," Mourinho said.
"If we signed Beckham, he could absolutely play as a deep-lying playmaker.
"I've always believed his qualities could be even more effective in central midfield."
"What about Juninho?" Ethan asked.
Cesc would unquestionably begin the new season as a squad player.
There was no debate about that.
But Juninho had been the heart of Mourinho's midfield for years.
He understood the system almost instinctively.
Ethan also liked him enormously.
Juninho trained hard, behaved professionally, and captained the team with distinction.
"Juan Figer spoke to me recently," Mourinho replied.
"He believes this summer is probably Juninho's best opportunity to join Real Madrid.
"He hopes we'll allow him to leave.
"And from the information I've received, Real Madrid are preparing to sign Walter Samuel.
"Real Sociedad's asking price for Xabi Alonso is too high, so Madrid may end up choosing between Deco and Juninho.
"We might not be able to keep him."
Ethan looked surprised.
"They've given up on Beckham?"
"Not necessarily," David said with a laugh.
"Given the state of the football economy, even Real Madrid aren't swimming in cash.
"They're waiting for Manchester United to lower the price."
At that moment, perhaps only two clubs in Europe could truly spend without worrying too much about immediate finances.
Abramovich's Chelsea.
And New Manchester United.
The difference was that Ethan had always preferred disciplined investment.
He wanted value.
Efficiency.
Long-term returns.
The most expensive established star he had signed so far was Redondo, who had cost £11 million in a single payment.
That transfer had also helped New Manchester United build a good relationship with AC Milan.
Even so, Milan's approaches for Kaká and Palacio that year had both been rejected.
The players were tied to long-term contracts and neither had shown any desire to force a move.
Ethan frowned.
There was still one problem.
"What happens to our wage structure?"
(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.)