With every day seemingly bringing a fresh angle on the breakdown in communication between Paul Pogba and Manchester United, the French World Cup winner may quickly discover that engineering his exit will be tough task indeed.
Signed for almost £90 million in the summer of 2016, the Telegraph reported that the former Juventus man had already made his intention to leave the club clear; alerting United's CEO Ed Woodward of the decision before the beginning of this year's Premier League season.
However, with Barcelona the apparent destination Pogba has in mind, it has been reported that the Spanish giants are in no position to afford the asking price United will understandably demand.
Since returning to Manchester United for what was a world-record transfer fee, four players have made moves that have since eclipsed the money United parted with.
Although Barcelona were on the receiving end of the largest of these moves (Neymar to Paris St Germain), they have since spent an estimated few million more than the £198 million Neymar's move brought in recruiting Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembélé.
With the club's detailed financial accounts for 2017/18 to be released imminently, it is believed that had it not been for the sale of Neymar, the club would have recorded an operating loss of around €100m.
With the deals for Coutinho and Dembélé are to be paid off across the duration of either player's contract, it is unlikely that United would agree to such conditions.
Another area of intrigue when the detailed accounts emerge is where Barcelona's wage bill currently stands. Prior to the departures of Neymar and Andres Iniesta, the club's wage bill accounted for 84% of turnover.
Although those two players would have commanded enormous salaries, new contracts for key players have since been signed in that time. Given that Pogba would similarly command a significant wage if the move were to go through, it is likely that Barcelona would need to sacrifice some playing personell elsewhere.
