For a club with a great a deal of money, Manchester City can be terribly sensitive about perceptions of how much of it they spend.
Ahead of their deal to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for £51million, City were eager to explain what a value-for-money transfer it was.
That may well turn out to be true but the way that the 21-year-old plays for his new club will be the thing that swings that argument one way or the other.
Then, last week, City chief executive Ferran Soriano gave an interview in which he addressed the topic directly.