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When the transfer window opens, the players usually head out for a retreat after the gruelling weeks of top flight football. But the buzz remains in tact. The reins of entertainment are taken over by the fanboys and the media who keep outdoing themselves with the outrageous and the unthinkable. (Lads! Lads! Lads! Lads!)
When the footballers return, they walk into a raving mad world. However, we'll forever be grateful for all the banter on offer.
And the madness is there for everyone to see.
Here is a list of six of the craziest things that have happened off the pitch over the course of this summer.
#1 Granit Xhaka receives death threats
Arsene Wenger's plans for Arsenal are becoming exponentially indecipherable by the day. They started the season with a 4-3 win over Leicester and the fans urged the club to provide their defenders with some nutrition. Over the course of the next two weeks, it became clear that it was not just the defence that was a pile of pants, but, um, just the entire team. And quite a few did stick out like sore thumbs. And Granit Xhaka was one of them.
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In their embarrassing debacle at Anfield that saw the Gunners getting decimated by Liverpool, Xhaka had the gall to try to pull off the extravagant. His, now famous, back heel pass inside his own box and absolute inability to find a player wearing his own colour have made the Gooners' hackles rise.
Spurred on by their collective allergy of Arsene Wenger, the fans unleashed a wave of Achmedesque-I-kill-you hatred on Granit Xhaka's Instagram handle. And Xhaka has had to disable the comments on his page with trembling hands.
If the wax on offer on Arsenal Fan TV is anything to go by, he should wear a burqa the next time he steps out in public.
#2 Barcelona and PSG announced simultaneous press-conference amid Neymar speculation
Rewind to the time when Pogba was still the 'ridiculously overpriced' showman of Manchester and the footballing world was yet to be appalled by £100m+deals. That is also the time when people still thought Barcelona had the clout to pull off barter deals in Europe.
The world fell into a fit of frenzy when PSG were reported to be growing incapable of containing the urge to trigger the perceivably untouchable release clause of Neymar. It was suggested that the Italian regista, Marco Verratti was heading in the opposite direction.
But as curiosity mounted and most cynics sniggered at the possibility, PSG and Barcelona went ahead and announced simultaneous press conferences. Europe buzzed with THIS IS IT talks and to be honest, you wouldn't put it past PSG.
However, to everyone's dismay, when Unai Emery and Cavani sat by the mic's, Neymar's name was strictly off-limits. The press conferences turned out to be pre-match media briefings. Fans around the globe who had woken up at ungodly hours to catch the biggest announcement of the summer live were simply put, miffed.
PSG did sign Neymar in the end though. (Capt. Obvious packs a punch).
#3 Liverpool fans crash a worldwide aviation tracking website
The Scousers are still celebrating their brutal battering of Arsenal and are hailing their attackers. Liverpool's defence was mostly unperturbed but that's because Arsenal's attack was toothless. Their defenders still look all over the lot when faced with adversity.
Virgil Van Dijk, Southampton's stone-cold centre back is expected to come to Anfield and put those woes to bed. Well, the Kopites are running short of patience and they took their internet powers to run a new string of fascinating banter.
Word broke out on social media that Van Dijk had boarded a private jet headed for Liverpool. Van Dijk had earlier posted a picture of him sitting in a similar aircraft. Liverpudlians swarmed in on the website and it crumbled under the load of the Scousers' curiosity.
When the jet touched down in Liverpool, some resting individual posted photos of a van being parked near the jet. Turns out the van is the same model as the one that Klopp and Salah arrived in. Need I say more?
#4 PSG's big 'M' announcement
The clubs and the fans seem to be vying to outdo each other with absurdity this summer. Ever since reports emerged that PSG stole a march on Real Madrid to become favourites to land Mbappe, Le Parisians have been waiting with bated breath.
So Thomas Meunier and PSG decided to combine forces to sell their fans a pup (The PR Team approved this?).
Meunier claimed on Twitter that the club is going to make a big announcement by noon. He traded tweets with PSG's official handle to reveal that the announcement will include a player whose name starts with 'M'.
The undoubting faithful faction of Paris believed that this is nothing but the official unveiling of Mbappe and probably got ready and got their kits inked with the newcomer's moniker.
Well, PSG delivered on their promise but the announcement looked like this:
Save the French and the energy. It's really not worth it.
#5 Kick-ups that went down
Well, when you throw tens and hundreds of millions to secure the services of professional footballers, you'd expect them to be able to at least kick up the ball without a hitch. But instead, some of them botched their unveilings and kicked up a fuss.
When you arrive with a hefty price tag, the world will motivate you to build those shoulder muscles lest they crumble under the pressure that is lavishly served.
First, it was Theo Hernandez.
And then Paulinho, who we all remember being sh*te at Tottenham, was brought in by Barcelona to bolster their midfield ranks. Fans had already deemed it to be quite underwhelming but more facepalms were in the offing.
And then it was the world's second most expensive signing Ousmane Dembele's turn.
All these were closed unveilings and fortunately for these lads, they were spared the collective gasps and sighs of their fans. And their sole purpose was to put on a show for the cameras. Well, they did, albeit, in unconventional fashion.
#6 Diego Costa partying in an Atletico Madrid kit
Well, two Premier League titles, two managers and three transfer requests later, Conte decided that it was time for Diego Costa to be shipped out. So out of all the different ways he could have chosen to handle this, the Italian manager decided to go the mature mile and texted Costa to eff off from Stamford Bridge.
Costa, being the school ground bully he is reacted in typical fashion. He went live on Instagram while partying in Brazil wearing an Atletico Madrid kit. He was still a Chelsea player and Atletico Madrid were banned from conducting business in the summer, mind you. But I guess rage got the better of common sense and yeah, check this out.
Costa was fooling around and asked for a prayer to be uttered for Antonio Conte. The joke's on him though. Chelsea wants him to return to Stamford Bridge and train with the club as he is obliged to do so. Costa, however, is still sulking as Atletico and Chelsea are yet to agree on a fee as his former club thinks Chelsea's £50m valuation of the Spaniard is a bit too cruel.
