This. The strong suspicion is that all of the posturing - eg how can we lose Fabregas and Nasri and be regarded as a 'big club' etc has been nothing but weasel words, uttered for one purpose and one purpose alone - in an attempt to drive up the transfer deals. It doesn't matter that the club ends up looking like a laughing stock, and the fans like chumps - paying the highest ticket prices in the country to watch their best players fly out the door.