Romário, Ronaldo Nazário and Ronaldinho all became major stars in Europe, and all three shared an interesting feature in their development: before reaching the very highest level, they had spent time in one of Europe's less dominant leagues.
Some people would dismiss that as coincidence. Kaká, after all, had moved straight into elite European football and adapted almost immediately.
Ethan did not think it was entirely accidental.
The standard of football in Brazil and Argentina was not necessarily lower than in Portugal, the Netherlands or France. In some respects, it could even be higher.
But the overall quality of a league was not the same thing as the environment a young player needed when adapting to European football.
Denílson was one of the clearest examples.
In Brazil, he had been celebrated as one of the great hopes of the country's attacking tradition. His technique was dazzling, his dribbling spectacular and his reputation enormous.
Then he moved to Spain and struggled to reproduce the same influence.
That did not mean La Liga was vastly superior to Brazilian football.
The difference was tactical.
Even Spain, with its reputation for technical and attacking football, demanded far more positional discipline, defensive responsibility and collective structure than most South American competitions.
The Premier League and Serie A were even less forgiving.
European football generally asked players to fit themselves into a tactical framework. South American football often gave talented attackers greater freedom to express themselves individually.
That difference became especially important for young players.
A Brazilian winger arriving in Europe might suddenly be expected to track an overlapping full-back, press according to a specific trigger, hold his position when the ball was on the opposite flank and make decisions according to the shape of the team rather than purely on instinct.
Some players adapted naturally.
Kaká had.
Rivaldo had.
Others needed months or even years.
Some never adapted completely.
Argentine players often arrived with a stronger tactical foundation, but they still needed time to adjust to European pace, physicality, weather, culture and coaching demands.
The length of that adaptation varied enormously.
For Ethan, that was why Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium could be so useful.
A young South American or African player did not always need to jump directly into a Champions League contender.
Sometimes the better route was to spend two or three years in a strong developmental league first, learn the demands of European football and then move into a major league when he was ready.
New Manchester United's international development plan was increasingly being built around that principle.
Long before the partnership network had been formalised, the scouting department had already been monitoring many of these prospects for years.
Scouts remained in regular contact with players, families and agents.
Relationships had been built gradually.
In some cases, the club had even helped before a transfer was completed.
Alexandre Pato was one example.
When he had required surgery during his development, New Manchester United had provided financial assistance to his family.
That kind of support built trust.
So when the club later suggested that some of these players begin their European careers in Portugal, the Netherlands or Belgium, most were willing to listen.
They understood that being sent on loan did not mean they had been discarded.
It could be part of a carefully planned route towards the first team.
Not everyone accepted that route.
Gonzalo Higuaín was one of the players Ethan admired.
New Manchester United had explored signing him and then placing him at Benfica, who needed another striker.
Higuaín's representatives made one condition clear.
If he moved, he wanted to remain with New Manchester United's senior squad.
The club could not promise him that.
Drogba and Villa were already established.
The attacking positions were crowded.
Signing Higuaín simply to leave him on the bench made no sense.
So the club withdrew.
For the moment, staying at River Plate and playing regularly was better for his development.
Mesut Özil was another player New Manchester United liked.
The club's scouts rated him highly, and Ethan knew exactly how much potential he possessed.
But again, there was no obvious route into Mourinho's first team.
New Manchester United told his representatives honestly that they could not guarantee him meaningful senior minutes.
Without the right development plan, there was no point completing the transfer simply because they could.
Reviewing the scouting department's plans forced Ethan to reconsider some of his own earlier ideas.
When New Manchester United were still climbing through the divisions, personal relationships had mattered enormously.
Trust mattered.
Loyalty mattered.
Ethan had tried to build the club around those principles.
He still believed in them.
But a major football club also needed to make difficult decisions without becoming sentimental.
Professional football was inherently competitive.
Players had ambitions.
Agents had financial interests.
Managers had tactical preferences.
Clubs had to protect their own future.
Trying to satisfy everyone forever was impossible.
New Manchester United had already done more than most clubs could reasonably promise.
They helped players develop.
They were honest about roles.
They tried not to keep footballers trapped on the bench simply to prevent rival clubs from signing them.
And when a player genuinely needed to leave, the club usually tried to handle the departure with respect.
That was enough.
A squad could not stay unchanged forever.
Without turnover, competition weakened.
Without competition, standards fell.
A club that refused to let anyone go out of sentiment would eventually stagnate.
What mattered was the way people were treated before, during and after those decisions.
If New Manchester United remained honest with its players, helped them improve and considered their careers rather than only their market value, most of them would remember the club positively even after leaving.
That had already happened repeatedly.
Ribéry had never caused problems when he struggled for a regular starting place.
Lahm had handled competition professionally.
Palacio had left without bitterness.
Kolo Touré had submitted a transfer request, but the negotiations remained respectful.
Players moved on.
Relationships survived.
There was another reason transfer disputes were relatively rare.
Mourinho's football was built around the collective.
No single player was allowed to become larger than the team.
Palacio could leave.
Touré could leave.
Other important players might leave in future.
New Manchester United still had to remain New Manchester United.
Ethan returned to that point when discussing the expanding loan network with Villas-Boas.
"We can't allow these players to become names on a spreadsheet," he said. "If we sign them, we have a responsibility to help them improve."
Villas-Boas agreed.
Then he moved on to another major youth-development project.
"We've reached an agreement with Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton, Manchester City, Blackburn, Arsenal and Chelsea," he said. "The first Premier League elite youth camp will be held in July. The places for each age group have already been allocated."
He handed Ethan the list.
Several familiar names immediately stood out.
Theo Walcott, Jack Rodwell, Jack Wilshere, Davide Santon, Aaron Ramsey, Fábio, Rafael, Neymar and Romelu Lukaku were among the New Manchester United youngsters selected, along with more than a dozen other highly regarded prospects.
Most were between twelve and sixteen.
This was the first generation that could genuinely be described as a product of the club's fully developed academy system.
Moniz and Meulensteen had worked on their technical foundations from an early age.
Ball mastery, first touch, close control and one-on-one ability had been developed alongside movement without the ball.
Small-sided games were used constantly.
Tactical understanding had been introduced gradually rather than imposed mechanically.
These players had grown up inside the system.
After years of investment, the academy was finally beginning to produce a generation that looked genuinely special.
That did not mean they would all reach the first team.
The standard required to play regularly for the champions of Europe was extraordinarily high.
Even among the academy players, competition was already fierce.
The places at the elite camp were themselves difficult to win.
Those selected were considered among the best prospects in their age groups.
At the camp, they would train and compete alongside the leading youngsters from other Premier League academies.
Ethan had always been fascinated by the way outstanding generations often appeared in clusters.
Manchester United had produced the Class of '92.
Real Madrid had produced the Quinta del Buitre.
West Ham had developed several outstanding English players in the same era.
Barcelona would later see Xavi, Puyol, Iniesta, Messi and others emerge from overlapping generations.
Why did talented players so often appear together?
Competition was a major reason.
A talented youngster improved.
The player beside him saw that improvement and worked harder.
One player's progress raised the standard for everyone else.
That process repeated itself across an entire age group.
Ethan did not believe youth football had to choose between enjoyment and competition.
Children needed to enjoy playing.
But they also needed challenges.
Without competitive pressure, elite talent rarely developed to its full potential.
That was why Newton Heath used so many competitive training formats.
Indoor leagues, three-a-side tournaments, technical competitions and small-sided matches were all part of the programme.
The goal was not to create fear.
It was to make improvement enjoyable and measurable.
The approach had worked well enough that Ethan had suggested extending the idea beyond New Manchester United.
Bring together the best young players from different Premier League academies.
Allow them to train together.
Let them compete.
Let the coaches exchange methods.
The Premier League and the FA had both supported the proposal.
France had already demonstrated that elite regional and national development structures could produce results.
For now, the programme would begin with Premier League clubs.
If successful, it could later be expanded across the English football pyramid and eventually throughout Britain.
As New Manchester United grew, Ethan's own perspective had changed as well.
He no longer thought only about producing players for Mourinho.
If youth development improved throughout England, the entire league would become stronger.
A stronger league would eventually benefit New Manchester United too.
That logic influenced another decision for the coming season.
The academy would spend more time abroad.
Alongside domestic youth leagues and the FA Youth Cup, selected teams would travel to France, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal for training exchanges and friendly matches.
The first programme would focus on Spain and the Netherlands.
During two international breaks, New Manchester United's academy sides would spend approximately two weeks overseas, training with local clubs and playing against players of the same age.
The objective was not simply to accumulate matches.
The club wanted its youngsters exposed to different footballing cultures.
Dutch academies would test their positional understanding.
Spanish teams would test their technique under pressure.
The players would encounter different styles, different coaching methods and different tactical problems.
They would learn where they were strong.
They would also discover where they were not.
The programme would increase academy costs considerably.
Ethan approved it without hesitation.
If it proved successful, other English clubs would probably imitate it.
He hoped they would.
Reserve football was also being reviewed.
A proposal had been submitted to abolish the existing north-south structure of the reserve league and create a national competition.
That would increase the number of matches to roughly thirty-six per season.
Travel and staffing costs would rise.
For Premier League clubs, those expenses were relatively minor.
The developmental benefits could be far greater.
Then there was the most fundamental issue of all.
Coaching.
At a recent Premier League meeting, several clubs had raised concerns about the shortage of qualified youth coaches in England.
The numbers were stark.
England had only around 2,800 UEFA-qualified coaches.
Spain had approximately 24,000.
The comparison was embarrassing.
Academies could build better pitches.
They could buy better equipment.
They could improve scouting and sports science.
But without enough well-trained coaches, the entire development structure would eventually hit a ceiling.
After returning to Manchester, Ethan discussed the problem with Moniz and Meulensteen.
The result was another project.
New Manchester United would establish a youth-coach education centre in Manchester.
The club planned to invite respected development specialists from across Britain and Europe to teach.
Eric Harrison, the man most closely associated with Manchester United's Class of '92, agreed to contribute.
Liverpool academy figure Steve Heighway, whose system had helped produce players such as Gerrard, Owen and McManaman, was invited as well.
Moniz and Meulensteen would teach.
Cassell would participate.
Other specialists in technical development, conditioning, psychology and youth education would be brought in for specific courses.
The fees would be kept deliberately low.
New Manchester United did not want coach education to become another product available only to wealthy clubs.
Interest was immediate.
The success of the academy had already made Newton Heath one of the most closely watched development centres in England.
Once the programme was announced, applications arrived from coaches throughout the country.
The Times devoted a major feature to the project.
Its argument went beyond the coaching academy itself.
For several years, New Manchester United had repeatedly identified weaknesses in English football and tried to address them.
Youth development.
Revenue distribution.
Reserve football.
Coach education.
International exposure.
Individually, the projects were modest.
Together, they suggested that the club was thinking beyond its own first team.
A reporter raised the point with Ethan during an interview.
He laughed.
"Our motives are selfish."
The journalist looked surprised.
Ethan explained.
"We share what we've learned because a stronger English development system benefits us too."
"If the standard of coaching improves, the players improve."
"If the players improve, the league improves."
"If the league becomes stronger, New Manchester United compete in a better environment."
"And if English football improves internationally, the value of everyone involved increases."
"So yes, helping other clubs helps us as well."
The Times put the interview on its front page the following morning.
The headline read:
THE SELFISH ALTRUIST
The paper argued that Ethan's explanation did not weaken the case for what New Manchester United were doing.
If anything, it made the model more sustainable.
Pure goodwill could disappear.
Mutual benefit endured.
The article praised the club for repeatedly identifying structural problems in English football and proposing practical solutions rather than merely complaining about them.
Its conclusion was straightforward.
From youth reform and revenue distribution to coach education, New Manchester United had repeatedly targeted areas in which English football lagged behind its rivals.
Whatever Ethan chose to call his motives, the club's influence was already extending far beyond Newton Heath.
The newspapers wondered what New Manchester United might propose next.
They did not wonder for long.
Manchester City returned to the transfer market.
One major deal was followed by another.
The media's attention shifted almost overnight.
Improving youth coaching might change English football over the next twenty years.
Signing a superstar sold more newspapers tomorrow morning.
And Manchester City were about to provide plenty of headlines.
(To be continued.)
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