CHAPTER 433: GREATER HEIGHTS, GREATER TRIALS

Manchester turned sky blue last night as an estimated 50,000 fans poured into the city centre to welcome home their heroes, newly crowned UEFA Champions League winners, Manchester City.

The open-top bus parade began at Maine Road before winding its way down Oxford Road, where supporters clung to lampposts and sang until their voices cracked. The streets shook with chants of "Blue Moon", echoing through the city like never before.

At Albert Square, the scenes turned surreal. Standing shoulder to shoulder with the players were Manchester’s own rock icons, Oasis. Liam Gallagher, clad in his trademark parka, led the crowd in a roaring chant of "City! City!", while Noel plugged in his guitar and ripped through the opening chords of "Be Here Now".

As Javier Zanetti hoisted the giant silver trophy aloft, confetti cannons erupted, mixing sky blue paper with cigarette smoke and the smell of beer. Damon Albarn and United’s fans might have had their day in the 90s, but tonight, the city belonged to the Blues.

After years of struggle, City finally lifted their heads high, proudly displaying two trophies — the Premier League and the crown jewel of European football. Envy spread quickly across Manchester.

Year after year in English football, the spotlight drifted away from Liverpool and Manchester. In their place, Chelsea, Arsenal, Blackburn, and even Newcastle began to make their mark. The competition grew fierce, with three domestic trophies up for grabs and new challengers rising to claim them.

Other than City winning the Champions League, Chelsea also unexpectedly lifted the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, turning almost every corner of the UK blue — especially in Manchester and London. It wasn’t just the focus of domestic football; this year, English football truly stood as a beacon for Europe.

After a week-long celebration filled with parades, fan events, and a grand homecoming, the players finally packed their bags to head off — some returning home, while others went straight to join their national teams for the World Cup in France.

Meanwhile, Manchester City’s management wasn’t quite on holiday yet. CEO Miss Heysen was busy liaising with sponsors — not only renewing old contracts but also fielding interest from new partners eager to get on board. It was conservatively estimated that the club would have over twenty commercial partners before the new season began, with sponsorship income expected to double compared to the previous year.

New deals for the team’s shirt-front advertising were already lined up, but Richard had a plan for that.

"Let’s not extend the contracts with Umbro and Brother. Instead, let’s bring in Adidas and Range Rover as the main sponsors for next season," Richard said decisively.

"Rover?" Miss Heysen was taken aback.

Richard sighed and rubbed his temples. Although Manchester City was his main focus, it didn’t mean he was leaving everything else unattended. One area he paid particular attention to was his trump card — the Range Rover brand.

However, the wider Rover Group had been struggling. The Rover 100, a facelifted version of the long-running Austin Metro, had been on the market for only a couple of years before it collapsed under the weight of failure.

In November of last year, the Rover 100 underwent Euro NCAP crash tests, and the results were disastrous.

The car received the harshest blow possible: a one-star rating, with one star struck out due to serious safety concerns. For Richard, it was a humiliation. Compared with rivals like the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Polo, Peugeot 106, and Renault Clio, the result destroyed both sales and the brand’s reputation, pushing the company even deeper into crisis.

"By the way, let’s put Rover aside. How about next year’s broadcasting revenues and prize money distribution models that you discussed yesterday?"

As the CEO of Manchester City, she would naturally need to coordinate and discuss with several key parties, including Premier League finance officials, the club’s accounting team, and possibly broadcasting partners (e.g., Sky Sports, BT Sport), as she would liaise with network representatives to understand rights fees, bonuses, and promotional obligations.

The following seasons marked a period of significant financial development for the Premier League.

Across Europe, Serie A continued to thrive. Beyond the financial dominance of the three northern giants, other Italian clubs had also become wealthy thanks to sponsorship deals, broadcasting fees, and commercial revenue. Even teams threatened with relegation were able to attract national team stars, which made Richard increasingly stressed about talent being poached from smaller clubs.

This summer, competition between two television networks for La Liga’s broadcasting rights injected substantial funds into Spanish clubs, prompting many mid- to upper-tier teams to enter an "arms race" to strengthen their squads. However, due to the league’s distinct style of play, most teams tended to overlook Premier League players. The young English talents emerging in recent years often struggled abroad, with notable disappointments such as Gascoigne and Rush.

Meanwhile, the Premier League was slowly recovering after enduring financial austerity caused by a European competition ban, combined with the immense costs of building or renovating stadiums. Clubs’ annual investments were steadily increasing, and successful commercial operations were finally starting to yield tangible benefits.

Each club’s annual investment is growing, and successful commercial operations have started to yield benefits for the teams in the Premier League.

Miss Heysen nodded as she began her briefing.

"Next season, the Premier League will continue its partnership with Sky Sports. The distribution model will lean toward being more equitable, though clubs will still receive varying amounts based on their league performance and television appearances."

In other words, the financial gap between top and lower-tier clubs will remain significant. Teams with stronger performances and more frequent TV coverage will continue to generate the most revenue.

With City having just swept both the Premier League and the Champions League, they are in a strong position. Naturally, City can negotiate more favorable terms with broadcasters to maximize television revenue and further strengthen the club’s financial standing.

Richard nodded at this.

Next season, the Premier League would be entering a new era. For example, Manchester United under Ferguson had been dissatisfied with the squad. After missing out on Ronaldo, Larsson, and Shearer, if Richard remembered correctly, this would be the season when Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke stepped onto the stage. The same could be said for Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, who were also preparing to strengthen their squads.

"What about our new stadium? How’s the progress? Can we move there by next season?"

Yes—Richard was already thinking further ahead. With the Champions League set to expand, even if he wasn’t sure of the exact year, he wanted to be prepared.

At this time, the three major European competitions were ranked by influence: the Champions League stood at the top, followed by the European Cup Winners’ Cup, and finally the UEFA Cup. The Champions League served as the grand stage for each nation’s league champions; the Cup Winners’ Cup was reserved for the winners of domestic cup competitions; while the UEFA Cup gathered strong sides without as many titles, giving it a more collaborative and unpredictable character.

Having just claimed victory in two major competitions, City would now be expected to fight on three fronts in the coming season, competing across four important tournaments. Although Richard did not particularly value the League Cup, his sole objective for the new campaign was clear: to secure the Premier League title—or at the very least, to defend it.

"For our new stadium, we’ve already allocated a budget ranging from £100 million to £150 million. Our initial investment was £50 million, with the remaining funds to be raised through loans. I think it’s unlikely we’ll be ready by next season, but it could be possible within the next two if we halt other projects and accelerate construction. That said, we also need to fast-track critical facilities—segregated spectator sectors, proper access and exits, first aid stations, restrooms, and so on."

Richard nodded thoughtfully. Suddenly, he recalled how, around the year 2000, Arsenal had rented Wembley Stadium. Its larger capacity meant greater ticket revenue, while also giving the players a chance to become familiar with Wembley earlier.

"Forget it," Richard muttered, shaking his head.

Building a new stadium was essential, and doing it earlier meant lower costs and faster results. If they waited until the Premier League fully entered the capital-driven era, the financial pressure of constructing a stadium could leave City with no chance to recover.

But where would the income come from?

Aside from the club pursuing commercial development, they would also have to consider selling players. That year, from broadcasting, prize money, and other revenues, City was expected to generate nearly twenty million. Of that, Richard had already approved allocating half to the early stages of stadium construction.

"What about transfers? Do you want me to call Marina here?" Miss Heysen asked.

Richard nodded at first, then shook his head.

Transfers needed to be handled swiftly, but during a World Cup year, everything would have to wait until after the tournament. Especially with some big clubs from La Liga and Serie A already making their intentions clear about a few City players. Even if they had just won the Premier League and the Champions League—so what?

"Then where do you plan to go this summer? Are you going to stay at Maine Road like last year, or head straight to France?" Miss Heysen asked curiously.

Richard leaned back, tapping his fingers on the desk. "Hmm... actually, I already have something planned before the holiday season begins."

Or to be exact...

He continued, lowering his voice, "an invitation."

Before the World Cup even kicked off in France, he had one last destination to visit before heading on holiday. An event whispered about behind closed doors, where only the most powerful figures in European football were gathering.

The invitation was to attend the European Super League summit!