Such are the demands of elite footballers in today's market, even free-spending Chelsea might struggle to match the wages Erling Haaland and his representatives are after.
Indeed, although Roman Abramovich was happy to plow upwards of £200m into the squad while the rest of football was largely counting the cost of an unprecedented pandemic, the fees quoted in the chase to sign the great Borussia Dortmund forward are simply mind-boggling.
Not only have there been reports of a €175m (just under £150m) asking price but The Athletic have also suggested the total price of a deal across five years could set any potential suitor back £400m in total.
Perhaps the most in-demand striker in Europe at the moment, Haaland could reportedly cost up to £1m-per-week in wages, equating to roughly £142k a day.
While not even the most ardent rival supporter could doubt Abrahmovich's willingness to invest, those sort of numbers could prove prohibitive to many of the top clubs on the continent, even despite the striker's 57 goals in 59 games since moving to one of Europe's major five leagues.
The club, however, could have a plan.
By moving on some of their deadwood this summer, The Sun estimates Chelsea - fresh from winning the Champions League of course - could save up to £1m a week, potentially clearing the path to sign Haaland.
Here's a look at who needs to go in order for that to happen.
*Wage data from SpotRac*
Goalkeeper - Kepa Arrizabalaga
Still the world's most expensive goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga's move to Stamford Bridge hasn't really worked out.
Limited to only 6 Premier League starts last season, the 26-year-old has fallen behind the stoic Edouard Mendy and, earning £150k-per-week, is certainly an expensive back-up.
If Chelsea can move the Spanish international on, that should free up plenty of funds.
Defenders - Davide Zappacosta, Baba Rahman, Emerson Palmeri
Collectively, Davide Zappacosta, Baba Rahman and Emerson Palmermi are thought to be costing their employers £239k-per-week.
Given Zappacosta (£70k-per-week) has only ever played 52 times for the club since joining in 2017 and Rahman (£94k-per-week) hasn't even pulled on a Chelsea shirt since 2016, it'd be fair to say they have been huge wastes of money.
Palmeri (£75k) might fare a bit better but, with Ben Chilwell establishing himself as the undisputed first-choice, perhaps looking to sell the Italian international while his stock is high following his country's exploits at Euro 2020 could be a good idea.
Midfielders - Danny Drinkwater, Ross Barkley, Kenedy, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Few will need reminding about just how badly Danny Drinkwater's time at Chelsea has gone after he moved from Leicester City in 2017 but, on a deal said to be worth around £100k-per-week, the lack of return on the club's investment is worth mentioning again.
Fellow England international Ross Barkley (£96k) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (60k) may have fared a bit better in the first-team during their spells at Stamford Bridge but, being brutally honest, neither appear to have much of a role under Thomas Tuchel.
Tiemoue Bakayoko (£110k) has been nowhere near the first-team since the end of Antonio Conte's reign amid a flurry of loan spells and the same can be said for Kenedy (£25k) who many have even forgotten was on the club's books.
Forwards - Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham, Michy Batshuayi
Both Callum Hudson-Odoi (£120k-per-week) and Tammy Abraham (£57k) have certainly proven their worth in the starting XI before but, considering both have been mooted as potential makeweights in a proposed Haaland deal, it seems unlikely either academy graduate figures prominently in Tuchels' plans.
Michy Batshuayi did, of course, score the goal that helped Conte secure the Premier League title in 2017 but, on £90k-per-week, has done little else during what has largely been a frustrating time of things for the Belgian international.
Clearly, there's a lot of work to be done on the transfer front but many of these players have proven to be an international standard, so it's not as if they're likely to be short of suitors.
If Chelsea can start to clear their books, Haaland's demands could be met. For the rest of Europe that is a scary prospect.
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