The end of the winter break didn't shake Clair's standing in the team. If anything, the massive crowd he drew at the Lym Valley Music Festival only boosted White Hart Lane's popularity.
In an away match against Tottenham, Clair only played for 10 minutes, but he made those minutes count in a way that left everyone in awe. Not only did he flawlessly protect Manchester United's goal when goalkeeper Van der Sar went off injured, but he also scored a stunning lob shot in the final minute before leaving the pitch.
Off the field, teammates like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were stunned. Even Sir Alex Ferguson gave Clair a hug as he came off. Manchester United, in what was arguably their strongest season, crushed Tottenham 4-0, earning a shower of gifts from fans. The grueling string of matches not only positioned United to dominate the Premier League next season but also rewarded the team's key players handsomely—including for their recent friendly at Lym Valley Stadium.
Rooney let out a squeal, staring at a bank notification on his phone. Other players got similar texts at the same time.
"Holy—! I just got an extra £70,000!" Ferdinand shouted, tossing his jersey to the ground.
Evra chimed in, "Me too! Well, £7,000 for me!"
Clair glanced at his teammates' shocked faces and peeked at Ronaldo's phone. When he saw Ronaldo's notification showing £340,000, Clair's jaw dropped. He knew the team's total payout was £1.2 million, but he hadn't realized Ronaldo alone was getting a quarter of it. That was a surprise.
Park Ji-sung, after glancing at his own amount, hid his shock and strolled over to Clair, saying loudly, "Ahem! This windfall? You guys better thank Clair for it. It's not much, but I'll take your thanks on his behalf!"
Ronaldo, still processing, was floored. He knew the Lym Valley Music Festival had been a goldmine for Clair, but he didn't expect it to equate to the price of a suburban London house. "Thanks, mate," Ronaldo said quietly, clapping Clair's shoulder.
"No biggie," Clair replied. "Next time might not be as much, though. This was a main event with huge turnout. Don't get mad if the numbers drop later."
Ferdinand leaned in, whispering, "How much did the boss make off us?"
"No clue," Clair said, caught off guard. When he saw the skeptical looks around him, he added, "Seriously, I don't know! My uncle bought out all my stakes in the castle and Lym Valley Stadium!"
At the mention of Clair's uncle, Park Ji-sung's eyes lit up with gossip. "Wait, your uncle, Dennis Erwin, the former MUTV host, is now an Andlem city councilor? Any juicy political secrets? Any backroom deals or campaign cash to spill?"
Even the usually cool-headed Rooney leaned in, eager for the tea. Clair got why his teammates were so curious. In football, no matter how well you played, you couldn't escape the UK's massive "fame and power" game. Sir Alex Ferguson, their coach, was a walking example—attending House of Lords meetings every winter break.
Power meant profit in the UK, and who wouldn't want to retire with the media, fans, and locals singing their praises? The British parliamentary system was well-known: the House of Lords, filled with old and new nobility like Ferguson, and the House of Commons, made up of influential figures like factory owners and capitalists. Clair's uncle, Dennis, had snagged a councilor seat in Andlem, a small city of 70,000 with an aging population and little heavy industry or tech.
When Dennis brought a massive tertiary service chain like Lym Valley Stadium to Andlem, it sparked a wave of local growth. Hotels, transport, and accommodations flourished within a month, and the stadium's tax revenue turned the local government from broke to flush. Dennis becoming a councilor was a no-brainer. Though Clair had advised against further expansion, a stadium like that needed construction to grow, and construction always boosted local economies. To keep Dennis in Andlem, the city not only gave him the councilor role but also secured him a loan from Barclays Bank.
That loan allowed Dennis to buy back Clair's shares. As family, Clair didn't inflate the value of the commercial assets around Lym Valley Stadium, only adding a 5% premium. His original £7 million investment turned into £7.85 million—not a fortune, but enough to pull Clair out of the red. Combined with royalties from Warner Records, he was now a multimillionaire.
With cash in hand, Clair didn't rush to buy property in the UK, knowing the global financial crisis was looming. After the match, he hurried back to his rented place at Old Trafford and met with his newly hired financial advisor, Maggie Pate.
"Thrilled you chose me as your personal advisor at Goldman Sachs!" Maggie said, looking exhausted.
Clair brewed her a coffee and tossed her a pack of gum. "You look swamped."
"Yeah, tons of clients and merger cases," Maggie replied, sipping her coffee. "Did you really sell off the Lym Valley Stadium project?"
Clair nodded with a smile.
"Shame. If you'd come to me, I could've gotten you a 40% markup," Maggie said.
Clair wasn't fazed. With the real estate bubble at 130% ahead of the crisis, 40% wasn't that impressive. "I've got a fund to pitch—great returns," Maggie started.
Clair cut her off. "No thanks. No real estate funds or stocks for me. I'm here to ask you to buy Apple stock."
"Jobs? I hear he's making progress on a new phone OS, but no one's betting on him," Maggie said. "People tag you as a Google guy. Shouldn't you be buying Google stock because of your ties with Chen?"
Clair shook his head, exasperated. Sure, UK Big Sale Net had exploded after that marketing stunt, but Clair was deliberately stepping back from it. After launching the "Million Subsidy Plan," he'd lowered its priority in his life. He didn't know what else he could do for the site—its future profitability hinged on fine-tuned management, and he planned to cash out fast after it went public. As for the Google label, he and Chen Shijun were tight, but that was personal. UK Big Sale Net had no Google investment.
"PCs have been around long enough. It's time for something new to shake things up," Clair said, dodging Maggie's push with a half-baked excuse. She smiled, unfazed.
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After signing the agreement, Maggie left his villa briskly. Moments later, Dennis Erwin came downstairs in a sharp suit. "Picked a university for your studies yet?"
"University of Hawaii," Clair replied.
Dennis nodded. "Ferguson's decision isn't personal. It's just about Rooney—"
Clair cut him off. "I get it. I'm out of the Premier League roster, but I'll be on the Champions League final list. It's his way of making it up to me."
Seeing Clair wasn't upset, Dennis beamed. "You're grown now, making your own choices. Your path's yours to walk. I won't say much more."
He gave Clair's shoulder a serious pat.
"Why so formal?" Clair laughed. "I'm not quitting football. Just taking the chance to study."
"You're only 19," Dennis said, nodding approvingly at his nephew, now nearly as tall as him. "A degree could set you up nicely."
Truthfully, Dennis had bought the Castle team partly to fulfill his unachieved dream of coaching at United and partly to secure a fallback for the family. He never imagined Clair would shine so brightly in business and music, building a thriving empire and becoming a chart-topping star.
Dennis knew the dynamics at United. Clair's arrival was a shot in the arm, boosting Old Trafford's revenue and speeding up the team's attack. But as the saying goes, "too much success overshadows the master." That "master" wasn't just the boss—it could be United's former star, Rooney.
With United's finances improving and key players regaining form, Ferguson needed to give younger players more chances to keep their agents happy and maintain team harmony. This squeezed the playing time of veterans like Rooney. At first, Clair was just a rookie, but as his performances outshone others, Rooney's mood soured. Clair's Lym Valley Stadium side hustle, which let players earn extra cash, made him more popular than Rooney with some teammates.
To avoid a repeat of past drama with Ronaldo, Ferguson had a private talk with Clair. As a product of United's youth system, Clair knew he had to step up and set an example. He took the opportunity to agree to Ferguson's request, asking for a long break to pursue his studies.
As for Ronaldo? Being Clair's friend, he knew better than to stir the pot. Before Clair joined, he was the one Rooney had issues with.