Manchester United's pursuit of Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo has seemed likely to prove extremely expensive since the Bees decided he should cost as much as Matheus Cunha.
United splashed out a reported fee of £62.5 million for the Wolverhampton Wanderers star, who was by many measures the outstanding attacking player in the Premier League last season and appears to be a perfect tactical fit for Ruben Amorim's plans at Old Trafford.
But Mbeumo had a terrific season too and is just as important to Brentford as the Brazilian was to Wolves.
The Red Devils recognise his worth and their interest is as resolute as ever, according to reports, but the enormous transfer fee is just one part of the financial picture when it comes to big Premier League dealings.
Cameroon international Mbeumo will reportedly earn around £150,000 per week at United, similar again to the salary understood to have been agreed by Cunha.
That's a spectacular packet but also a sharp drop from earlier suggestions that he was demanding as much as £250,000 per week to make the move from West London.
Such an amount would have quadrupled his Brentford pay but asking for £250,000 per week would be a tremendous strategy for a player looking for £150,000 from a new club.
Nevertheless, the higher figure did not go unnoticed by fans and was roundly ridiculed on social media, where ridicule is the native currency.
Now it looks like the truth might be closer to market value United fans on X, formerly Twitter, have turned their barbs towards the media and fans of other clubs for claiming Mbeumo would be overpaid.
Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo pictured (Image: Getty)
Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo pictured (Image: Getty)
"Damn the press will hate that," joked one comma-dodger.
"Newcastle fans were saying he's on 300k a week," zinged another fan.
"Arsenal fans told me he’s going to earn 250k," said one fan, blaming those poor Gooners for a figure that was widely reported.
Naturally, rhetorical exaggeration emerged because everyone's a comedian.
"But I heard from every rival fan that he's asking for 600k a flat a new Ferrari and a girlfriend to join Man United," chuckled Football Twitter's equivalent of Stewart Lee.