Chapter 103: Here I come, America!

Harry Potter, a world-renowned fantasy franchise, and "Creep," an iconic alt-rock anthem.

With these two names under the banner of Maddox Media & Entertainment, Richard believes that in less than five years, he’ll turn the company into a cultural powerhouse. He’s determined to set the stage to redefine modern storytelling and pop culture.

’It would be best if I could use Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint’s popularity to boost City later. Also, I could use future Radiohead to pump up the fans during pre-game rituals, singing the chant with the fans later...’

Just imagining it made him excited. He wanted to replicate the Super Bowl halftime show, focusing on music and entertainment to captivate the crowd.

"Is it feasible?" Richard wondered aloud. But as the idea lingered in his mind, he quickly calmed himself.

’Yeah, it just wasn’t possible.’

He reminded himself.

There’s a reason why, even in modern football, powerhouse clubs like Real Madrid, top teams from the English, Italian, and even German leagues, never feature musical performances, celebrity stunts, or entertainment segments like the "Kiss Cam" or anything of the sort. Heck, even Barcelona, despite being on the brink of bankruptcy, never considered such things.

First, halftime is only 15 minutes—just enough time for fans to grab a cup of tea and a pork pie. Can you get a halftime show on the pitch and off the pitch in 15 minutes? Definitely not.

Second, where was he taking Manchester City?

He didn’t want to be the first to kill this football culture, definitely.

Football is not a social event in the first place. It should be called "The Halftime Show," with a football game played between performances. Most fans go to the stadium to watch the game, not to attend a Broadway show.

Richard definitely didn’t want to turn his Manchester City into something overhyped through marketing or make it seem like a big deal by bringing in big-name music stars for a ridiculous halftime show.

For example, after the Super Bowl, people talk about the halftime show and the commercials. If you ask them about the final score, you’ll get a blank stare.

Perhaps that’s why it’s called the beautiful game. It transcends any single culture. The match itself is what’s important: 45 uninterrupted minutes, a short break with commentary, and another 45+ minutes (with stoppages).

Sure, local aspects of culture influence the game—like the chants heard at top-tier matches. But across the world, it’s all about the game of football. Anything that breaks the focus on the game during the 90+ minutes is inappropriate.

’That’s okay though,’

Richard muttered to himself as he dismissed the idea from his mind. ’

Still, the media and entertainment industry was something that I needed to break into, and books and music were the keys to doing so.’

A publishing house and a record label were just two more bullets he wanted in his portofolio—just in case something went sideways with the dot-com bubble.

After all, it never hurts to have plenty of backups. He wanted to sit on the rights to

Harry Potter

and

Creep

, not just for the bragging rights, but to turn them into his personal cash cow.

But before that, he needed cash—fast.

Books don’t publish themselves, and music doesn’t license itself. Studios, editors, distribution deals—all of it costs money.

Thankfully, an invitation from Vince McMahon arrived just in time—meaning the cash would start flowing again, thanks to his stake in the event’s lucrative pay-per-view revenue.

SWOOSH—like a streak of lightning, a blue-midnight Porsche tore through the London streets, weaving past traffic before pulling into Heathrow Airport with practiced precision.

"Are you sure you don’t need me to come with you to America?" asked Fay, the driver now, who now served as the COO of Maddox Capital, overseeing every inch of Richard’s investment empire.

He and the newly appointed Managing Director, Stuart Olm, had recently relocated to the Britannia Inter-Continental London, which currently served as the temporary headquarters for his growing company.

Since it was a hotel in the first place, Richard didn’t mind letting them stay there. After all, neither of them was married yet, so yeah—they were just fine living the good life.

"Don’t you have more important things to handle here with Stuart?" Richard said, rolling his eyes.

Other than overseeing all of Richard’s investments, he had also instructed them to directly handle every property under Maddox Capital—most notably, the upcoming renovation of the future St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London.

Since the building’s architecture was deeply Gothic and already historic, the renovation would be incredibly costly and required careful, hands-on supervision. After all, the hotel was a nationally protected landmark, and any modifications had to be executed with the utmost precision and care.

Fay shut his mouth, unable to counter Richard’s statement, which made Richard smirk. He then leaned back against the car seat and suddenly remembered McMahon’s invitation.

"Hey, Fay, how much could I get this time from WrestleMania?" he asked.

"Probably about three million," Fay replied coolly, rattling off the numbers like a man reading tomorrow’s paper.

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Probably?"

"It’s pyrotechnic overcompensation," Fay muttered under his breath while grabbing the parking ticket. "But if everything goes according to projections, then yes—three million from this event alone."

"How much did the previous events bring in?" Richard asked.

He was referring to the other Big Four:

King of the Ring, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam,

and

Survivor Series.

Fay didn’t miss a beat. "Those three events brought in about four million combined this year."

Richard was genuinely surprised. "So

WrestleMania

alone is pulling in almost the same as the other three combined?"

To put things into perspective: the four million pounds Fay had mentioned earlier was the total revenue from

King of the Ring, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam,

and

Survivor Series

combined. Now,

WrestleMania

—the crown jewel of wrestling events—was projected to bring in nearly 75% of that total by itself.

Fay nodded as he tapped the gas when the light turned green. "Absolutely, the hype’s bigger this year. If we go by last year’s numbers, this year should easily surpass them. The arena’s expecting a live crowd of around 18,000, and pay-per-view sales are projected to hit 400,000."

"Six million, huh? Not bad."

At the moment, he has only £2.9 million in liquid assets—what remains from a billion-pound loan secured from Barclays and Lloyds, combined with the winnings he recently claimed from the 1994 World Cup.

’Adding in six would be enough,’

Richard thought to himself.

After arriving at Heathrow Airport in London, Richard made his way out of the terminal.

Fay, still by his side, finally bid farewell as he headed to the private jet he had chartered for the trip.

The soft hum of the engines filled the cabin as the flight attendants went through their routine, making sure everything was in order. Richard, however, barely noticed. He leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes for a moment, and let the soothing sounds of the radio wash over him.

[... A late equaliser from Lee Sharpe preserves Manchester United’s 38-year unbeaten run in European competitions as they hold FC Barcelona to a 2–2 draw in their third Champions League group fixture at Old Trafford..]

[... The Times reports that 16 Football League clubs are set to break away from the league to form a second tier of the Premier League...]

[...Manchester United bounce back from their disappointment last weekend to beat West Ham 1–0 at Old Trafford with a goal from Eric Cantona...]

[...Malaysian football is involved in one of the largest match-fixing scandals in the sport’s history...]

[...Title contenders Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United clash in the league at Ewood Park, with Alex Ferguson’s side finishing 4–2 winners....]

[..Manchester United lose 4–0 to Barcelona at the Nou Camp in their fourth Champions League group game...]

[... Vélez Sársfield wins the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, Japan by defeating Italy’s AC Milan (2–0)...]

[...Manchester United bow out of the Champions League despite beating Galatasaray 4–0 at Old Trafford in their final group game. Young midfielders Simon Davies and David Beckham score their first goals for the club...]

Among all the news, almost every headline seemed to revolve around Manchester United.

Even though the English club had been knocked out of European competition this year, the media’s obsession with them showed no signs of stopping about them.

Richard smirked wryly.

Being a famous team had its perks, but the downside was the constant media attention. It wasn’t just the reporters who were relentless—other clubs also began using Manchester United’s name to inflate the price of players they wanted to sell.

Richard rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Manchester United..."

They were undeniably rich—so rich that from the 2013 season onwards, all they seemed to have was money, but no trophies. Still, the never-ending stream of cash kept flowing.

"If I can play the game right, there’s a lot to gain,"

Richard thought.

The only real hurdle, however, was the Manchester Derby.

Any transaction between Manchester City and Manchester United would be under intense scrutiny—not just from the media, but from the fans.

Selling a player to their biggest rival?

That was the kind of move that could spark outrage and backlash. To avoid any future fallout, Richard needed a long-term strategy. One that would ensure that, if City ever sold a player to United, the fans wouldn’t see it as a betrayal—but rather, as a calculated business decision.

Subtle, smart, and under the radar.

For example, the legendary Billy Meredith, who played for Manchester City from 1894 to 1906, helped them win their first major trophy—the FA Cup in 1904. Then there’s Brian Kidd, who is quite unique in that he played for both Manchester United and Manchester City, later working as a coach for both clubs as well.

Such transfers were rare, but they did happen—though perhaps not under the same circumstances today.

Still, he saw opportunity.

Maybe he could offload players on the verge of flopping—or better yet, identify a hidden gem from United’s academy, nurture them into a star at City, then sell them back for a hefty profit.

’Like Paul Pogba?’

Richard mused with a smirk.

But for a move like that to succeed, he’d need support—most likely from the fans themselves.The real question was:

how to get them on his side?

"Sir..."

Flipping players for a massive profit was a game too tempting to ignore. Richard mulled it over, lost in thought.

"Sir...?"

’Also, definitely not under Sir Alex,’

he muttered, a chill running down his spine at the thought. ’

That would’ve been a hard no.’

He paused, tapping his fingers on the armrest.

"Hm... probably AC Milan under Berlusconi is the better target. Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard... they’re nearing the end of their prime. Milan’s bound to start hunting for fresh legs soon. Interesting..."

"Sir...!"

Richard blinked and looked up, startled by the voice.

Standing before him was a stunning flight attendant, her smile both polite and professional.

"Sir, we’ll be landing shortly at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York," she said gently.

Richard gave a small nod, pulling himself back into the moment.

"Right. Thank you."