"OWNER IN DRESSING ROOM BUST-UP WITH STAR WINGER!"
Ethan blinked at the headline.
"…'Bust-up'?" he muttered, holding up his phone to Ibrahim. "I told the lad to stop acting like he was on Love Island. That's not a bust-up. That's parenting."
Ibrahim, sipping coffee across the breakfast table at Old Trafford's exec suite, grinned. "In tabloid language, that's a civil war."
The story had broken at 7 a.m.—courtesy of a well-placed "source close to the dressing room." That phrase, of course, could mean anyone from the kitman to Jayden's barber.
By 9 a.m., every major outlet was running their own variation:
"RIFT IN REDS? Young Owner Flexes Power Over Dressing Room!"
"McCabe Humiliated: Will He Demand January Exit?"
"Is Ethan Cross Losing the Dressing Room Already?"
On Twitter, things were worse.
#McCabeGate was trending. So was #GlazersComeBack (mostly as a joke… Ethan hoped). A parody account called "Ethan Out Of His Depth" had 20k followers in under an hour. Their first post?
"Ethan: I played FM. I got this.
Carrington Staff: Sir, this is real life."
Ethan didn't laugh. Not really.
10:45 AM – Carrington Press Room
The weekly presser was meant to be routine—Ten Hag answering questions about the next fixture, injuries, and whether Antony would ever remember how to beat a man.
Instead, it was a media minefield.
Ethan stood in the back of the room, arms crossed, out of view but not out of earshot. Ten Hag looked like he'd aged five years since Tuesday.
A Sky reporter fired first.
"Erik, has the ownership stepped over the line by intervening in first-team matters?"
Ten Hag's brow twitched. "The owner cares about the club. I care about football. We are aligned."
"Did Mr. Cross confront Jayden McCabe during training?"
Erik exhaled. "He reminded a player of standards. That is not confrontation. That is accountability."
A Times journalist jumped in. "So is Ethan now making selection decisions?"
"Do I look like I need help picking a team?" Ten Hag deadpanned.
The room chuckled. Even Ethan smirked.
1:00 PM – United Media Office
The communications director, Sandra, had already fielded over 200 emails. She looked like she was preparing for a Champions League final, not a press scrum.
"We either stay silent," she told Ethan, "or we give the story oxygen. Right now, it's noise. But if Jayden posts something dumb…"
"He won't," Ethan interrupted.
Sandra raised an eyebrow. "He once tagged the club in a post where he was at a nightclub… during a match."
Ethan grimaced. "Okay, fine. If he does, I'll personally log into his Instagram and delete it."
Ibrahim muttered, "That's the most Gen-Z threat I've ever heard."
2:30 PM – Jayden's Post
Just as things were calming down, Jayden posted a cryptic photo on Instagram.
A black screen. A broken heart emoji. A lock. And the caption: "Loyalty goes both ways."
Ten Hag sent a single-word text:
"Fix."
3:00 PM – Ethan's Call
Ethan called Jayden directly.
"Bro, seriously?" he snapped. "You dropped a Drake lyric in the middle of a PR disaster?"
Jayden sounded genuinely confused. "It wasn't about you."
"Then who?"
"My ex."
A pause.
"She blocked me on Snap."
Ethan stared at the wall. "You are single handedly giving me grey hair."
"Wait—people think that was about training?"
"Yes, because you're a professional footballer with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop."
Jayden groaned. "I'll delete it."
Ethan sighed. "Leave it. I'll spin it. Just… maybe log off until kickoff."
4:15 PM – Social Media Redemption
Within the hour, United's official Twitter dropped a short training video: McCabe scoring a screamer. Rashford clapping. Ethan watching from the sidelines with a neutral expression.
The caption?
"Focus. Fight. United."
It went viral in a good way this time.
The comments were filled with:
"Jayden cooking again!"
"Ethan's cooking too tbh."
"CEO of vibes and accountability."
By evening, #McCabeGate was old news. The new trend?
#TheCrossEffect
8:00 PM – Ethan's Apartment
As he crashed on the couch, Ethan flipped on Match of the Day.
No United highlights yet—just Alan Shearer raising an eyebrow and saying, "Young owners need to know when to lead and when to leave it."
"Thanks, Dad," Ethan muttered to the screen.
Ibrahim texted:
"You survived your first media scandal. Level up unlocked."
Ethan replied with a gif of someone dodging bullets in slow motion.
He exhaled, letting the madness of the day finally settle.
He was learning. Slowly. Painfully. Publicly.
But he was still standing.
And United? Still moving forward.