Here we are again. A summer transfer window involving Barcelona, complete with speculation, Instagram rumours and sly comments from their outspoken club president, Joan Laporta. Heard this one before?
Remarkably, it has now been two years since Laporta went on his lever-pulling frenzy, risking the Blaugrana's future finances for short-term success. And, if the goal was immediate gratification and the avoidance of financial ruin, then it worked. Barca won La Liga, and, as a sporting entity, they still exist. Job done.
However, those problems haven't gone away. The club's finances have recovered to an extent - they are no longer perennially flirting with doom - but they don't have the financial power to compete with Real Madrid or any of the rest of Europe's top clubs.
Barca find themselves in a remarkably similar position to past years, penny-pinching while relying on player sales and a faltering brand to assemble a squad capable of competing. Thus far, the misses have outnumbered the hits, with the Catalans once again falling behind the European elite.