(CNN)Gone are the days when footballers were sold for a bagful of kit, as was the price of former Liverpool star John Barnes when he joined English side Watford in 1981.
Football transfers are now, more often than not, in the mindboggling millions, while Neymar's move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain last month for an eye-popping world record $261 million has set a new benchmark.
English Premier League clubs have already spent over a billion in the market this summer -- and teams still have a few more days to spend as the transfer window in that league doesn't close until August 31.
As well as French side PSG, Serie A's AC Milan, under new owners, have also been flexing their financial muscle, splurging nearly $250 million so far this summer in a bid to rejoin the higher echelons of European football.
But is this summer's spending any different to previous years? Was Neymar's transfer an anomaly, a freakish fee for a rare talent, or has the Brazilian's move to France irrevocably changed football?
CNN Sport talked to some of the game's insiders -- an agent, a lawyer and a Premier League chief executive -- as well as fans to understand what is behind the spending.
Neymar has impressed since joining PSG, scoring three goals in the three league games he's played.
The Agent -- 'No-one is worth $261m'
Michael di Stefano is a Football Association intermediary who works in Italy and the UK. He tells CNN that transfer spending, in the Premier League especially, is at its peak.
"The Neymar deal was an exceptional one. It's not really a transfer fee, it's the buying out of a contract. It's not the norm. By meeting the buyout clause, PSG had the right to speak to the player -- Barcelona couldn't refuse it, they had no choice.
"No-one thought they would meet the clause, but there was an appetite for the player. Maybe the Spanish are now realizing that there are a number of clubs able to meet these huge figures and it will probably raise the level of the buyout, but the buyout clause is unique to Spain.
"We don't really have those in the UK and in Italy, for example, there are no buyout clauses.