And so the summer arrives with the usual mix of hope and expectation. Our daily habit as fans is to read every scrap of rumour as our Clubs bid for everyone who seeks a new and improved contract and every Club that needs to sell before they can buy leaks the news to the press.

Yes we are the people who buy the newspapers that write the myths, which drive up the salaries that ruin the game. One big merry go round fuelled by our thirst for knowledge with just one winner, the players

Take Robin van Persie. Mr Glass Knees has one good season and is 29 in the last year of a contract at Arsenal. Fact is that this is their only chance to sell him for big money, and his last chance to get a big deal. So he leaks to the papers that he won’t re-sign and Arsenal leak the 3 bidders, and say they bid £12m so they say £20m gets him.

It’s a game because next year he is free. The seller is trying to force the buyer into an auction. It’s crazy because he will go to whoever offers him the best salary, and that’s the opposite to what his Club wants so they need an auction.

We are the losers in all this as the Clubs pay by charging more at the gate, more for the pies and more for the shirts. And we buy the papers that spread the gossip that creates the auction.

The winner is RVP and the losers are the fans.

Players valuation makes little sense. The basic idea is like musical chairs and goes like this.

If you buy a 23 year old for £10m on a £2m a year 5 year contract package, then you’ve spent £20m for an asset that yields a return on the field. Setting insurance and medical/training costs aside lets say he sells for £15m after 4 years because he isn’t going to get a new contract then the loss is £3m for 4 years work. So that’s £750k pa. A big salary but for a pro footballer its OK.

The buying Club now has the same guy on another 5 year £3m a year contract so that’s now £30m of asset, an increased cost of 50% for the same player.

Let’s say at 31, 4 years into his contract he decides for one last MLS pay day, so he tweets his plans and the club sells for £5m and he gets a 3 year £2m a year contract. Cost to seller is £22m  and that’s £5.5m pa. That’s how the musical chairs work.

Of course the player has £20m and the second club takes the loss.

I’ve just described RVP.

Manchester United, don’t be a loser. Buy Lucas Moura, buy Moussa Dembele but don’t buy Juan Sebastian Veron, Dimitar Berbatov, RVP or any other low resale players.

We can’t afford it, and I mean us – the pie eating, shirt wearing, ticket buyers!!

By Steve Burrows CBE @ifollowsteve