After more than half a year of construction, the Red Rebel Stadium was beginning to take shape.
The underground car park and the main structural framework were largely complete, and the stadium's distinctive architectural character was becoming increasingly apparent, particularly in the design of the interior.
Under Herzog & de Meuron's plans, the stadium would feel open and spacious while keeping supporters as close to the action as possible.
There would be no running separating the stands from the pitch, nor would the corners be rounded away from the playing surface. Even supporters seated near the corners would have an unobstructed view of everything happening around the corner flags.
Every detail had been designed with one objective in mind.
Give the supporters the best possible matchday experience.
The underground car park was equally ambitious.
To cope with the enormous volume of traffic on matchdays, the architects had designed four separate exit routes connecting directly towards Alan Turing Way and Ashton New Road.
The layout worked almost like a motorway interchange, allowing thousands of vehicles to disperse efficiently after matches instead of creating gridlock around the stadium.
New Manchester United also intended to incorporate far more technology than was normally found in a football ground.
The car park, for example, would use an intelligent traffic-management system.
Around 350 state-of-the-art surveillance cameras would be installed throughout the stadium and surrounding areas, monitoring everything from crowd movement to congestion inside the car park.
The entire network would feed into a central stadium-management system.
Ethan was also considering installing a comprehensive digital network throughout the ground.
At Old Trafford, he had noticed that much of the internal communication infrastructure still relied on traditional wired systems.
The new stadium would be different.
His proposal called for roughly 1,100 network access points distributed throughout the complex.
The system would support far more than staff communications.
VIP suites would have internet connectivity, media facilities would be fully networked, and countless stadium services could eventually be integrated into the same digital platform.
It was precisely because Ethan insisted on incorporating so much advanced technology that the project budget had climbed to £250 million.
But once the stadium was finished, he was confident of one thing.
In terms of technological infrastructure, the Red Rebel Stadium would be the most advanced football ground in the world.
Its ambitious concepts had attracted attention far beyond England.
Even Florentino Pérez, president of Real Madrid, had travelled personally to Manchester to inspect the project.
...
Ethan's first impression of the slightly heavyset Spaniard had not been particularly favourable.
In his previous life, Florentino was often dismissed as a businessman who understood marketing but not football.
After speaking with him, Ethan quickly realised how shallow that judgement had been.
Florentino absolutely understood football.
He had supported Real Madrid for decades, and more importantly, he was surrounded by an entire organisation of advisers, scouts, executives, and football professionals.
To claim that such a man understood nothing about the sport was absurd.
During their meeting, Florentino explained the philosophy behind his management of Real Madrid.
He wanted the club to become the most glamorous football brand in the world.
The greatest players on the planet should dream of wearing white.
By repeatedly signing the biggest stars, Real Madrid could turn sporting excellence and commercial appeal into a cycle that continually reinforced itself.
Ethan smiled.
"So you sign the best players in the world one after another until people begin believing that anyone who joins Real Madrid must already be a superstar.
"And eventually, players begin thinking that joining Real Madrid is what makes someone a superstar in the first place.
"That is a very clever strategy, Mr Pérez."
Florentino laughed, his round face almost shaking with amusement.
Despite their differences in philosophy, Ethan found him remarkably easy to speak with.
Florentino possessed enormous personal charm.
Even when someone disagreed with him, he had a way of keeping the conversation calm and comfortable.
That ability was undoubtedly one of the reasons he had become so successful.
They were seated inside the stadium project office.
Walsh and Mark sat beside Ethan, while several members of Florentino's staff accompanied the Real Madrid president.
Their primary purpose in Manchester was to study the Red Rebel Stadium.
Florentino was planning a major renovation of the Santiago Bernabéu and wanted to examine some of the ideas being used in New Manchester United's project.
"Your own philosophy is quite distinctive as well," Florentino said.
"I think the Red Rebels and Real Madrid have something important in common.
"We both want to balance commercial growth with sporting success.
"At the moment, New Manchester United are doing that very well.
"But not perfectly.
"You've reached an obvious ceiling."
Ethan nodded.
"That's true.
"We still need to rise another level competitively.
"And commercially, we still lack a genuine global superstar."
Kaká had enormous potential in that regard, but his personality was naturally reserved.
Ronaldo possessed the charisma, but he was still far too young and immature.
For now, the Red Rebels lacked a player with truly global commercial appeal.
Their presence in League One also imposed an unavoidable limit.
No matter how effective the club's commercial department became, there was only so much revenue and worldwide attention a lower-division team could generate.
Ethan looked at Florentino.
"Real Madrid's strategy may appear balanced at the moment, Mr Pérez, but I think you're neglecting the middle of your squad."
Florentino raised an eyebrow.
Ethan continued.
"A football team is a little like a society.
"You need a small group at the top, but you also need a strong middle class supporting them.
"A stable society cannot function with only an elite and everyone else beneath them.
"And right now, Real Madrid seem to be underestimating the importance of that middle group."
"You're talking about Makélélé," Florentino said immediately.
"Exactly.
"You have Ronaldo, Raúl, Zidane, and Figo.
"Every one of them belongs among football's elite.
"But none of them is going to spend ninety minutes doing defensive work.
"Someone has to support them.
"Someone has to recover the ball, protect the spaces they leave behind, and allow them to play.
"Makélélé is one of those players.
"I'm sure your staff have calculated his financial value very carefully.
"But there are things a player contributes on the pitch that cannot be measured properly on a balance sheet."
Florentino fell silent.
He was far too intelligent not to understand what Ethan meant.
"Vicente del Bosque is another example," Ethan continued.
"He knows Real Madrid.
"He understands the club's traditions and the personalities inside the dressing room.
"I've always thought he was one of the managers best suited to this club.
"And there's something else.
"Allowing Fernando Redondo to leave was a mistake.
"If you still had Redondo alongside Makélélé, your midfield would be considerably stronger."
Real Madrid's lack of a true organiser deeper in midfield was already becoming apparent.
Florentino undoubtedly understood the issue.
Ethan simply suspected that it had never received the same priority as signing another global star.
"The defence has a similar problem.
"Hierro is getting older.
"Helguera can take responsibility, but he needs the right partner.
"You also need proper depth at centre-back.
"The academy may have talented defenders, but promoting them too quickly can damage their development.
"Real Madrid are extremely strong going forward, but the team is becoming increasingly top-heavy.
"If young defenders are thrown into that environment before they're ready, the pressure on them will be enormous."
Ethan's comments were partly personal.
In his previous life, he had supported Real Madrid and had watched many of Florentino's mistakes unfold.
If a few words now could help the club avoid some of those problems, he saw no reason to remain silent.
At the same time, he had no illusions about how much influence he actually possessed.
Florentino was an intelligent man.
If Ethan could see these problems, then so could many people working inside Real Madrid.
Perhaps Florentino would listen.
Perhaps he would continue exactly as before.
He might even pursue his Galácticos strategy more aggressively than Ethan remembered.
Eventually, Florentino smiled.
"Very well. I'll admit that you make a convincing argument.
"Which is exactly why we previously asked how much you wanted for Curtis Davies."
Ethan laughed and shook his head.
"You already know the answer.
"Every club needs a symbol.
"Hierro has been yours.
"Raúl will become the next one.
"And after him, perhaps Casillas.
"For New Manchester United, that player will be Curtis."
Florentino immediately understood.
Whatever hope he might once have had of signing Curtis disappeared.
Ethan simply was not going to sell him.
...
Their conversation soon returned to the stadium.
Florentino wanted to modernise the Santiago Bernabéu, so Ethan explained the Red Rebel Stadium's design principles in detail.
He also introduced him to Herzog and de Meuron.
Florentino was impressed enough to invite the architects, there and then, to become involved in the Bernabéu renovation.
It represented an entirely different challenge.
The Red Rebel Stadium had been designed from an empty site.
The Bernabéu already existed.
Any renovation would have to preserve the identity and structure of one of world football's most famous stadiums while transforming it into something modern.
For the architects, the complexity made the project even more attractive.
Florentino later toured the Red Rebel Stadium construction site personally.
He had to admit that Ethan's planning was extraordinarily comprehensive.
Virtually every part of the stadium and surrounding land had been assigned a purpose.
What surprised him even more was Ethan's intention to develop the entire district surrounding the ground.
At that point, Florentino understood immediately why companies such as Audi and Adidas had supported the project so enthusiastically.
If Ethan's plans succeeded, this would become far more than a football stadium.
It would become a Red Rebels destination.
A place supporters could visit even when there was no match.
Football, tourism, shopping, restaurants, entertainment, museums, retail outlets, and leisure facilities would all be concentrated around the club's home.
For Red Rebels supporters, it could eventually become something approaching a pilgrimage site.
For Manchester, it could become an entirely new commercial district.
In effect, Ethan was building a Red Rebel theme park around a football stadium.
What he did not expect was how much the idea would influence Florentino.
Several months later, at Real Madrid's general assembly, Florentino presented a comprehensive development programme for the club.
Alongside plans to renovate the Bernabéu, he announced a proposal for a large Real Madrid-themed leisure and commercial development in Madrid.
Many of the concepts bore a striking resemblance to what he had seen in Manchester.
When Ethan eventually heard about it, he could only laugh.
What was he supposed to do, send Florentino an invoice for the idea?
In truth, even if Ethan had wanted to complain, he had little time for it.
The Red Rebel Stadium still required enormous attention.
There were sponsorship negotiations to handle, commercial partnerships to complete, and countless club matters waiting for him.
One thing he had absolutely no intention of involving himself in was Ferguson's increasingly bitter dispute over the ownership of the racehorse Rock of Gibraltar.
That affair had little to do with Ethan.
And even if he had wanted to interfere, there was practically nothing he could have done.
(To be continued.)