It is the story that's plastered all over the back pages: Manchester United have got their man, but have they got his name?
When Jose Mourinho was drummed out of Chelsea back in December, most people thought that was the end of one of football's most tempestuous love affairs.
But, through a strange quirk of his dealings with the Blues, it seems Mourinho could be the gift that keeps on giving.
It was way back in 2005 that Chelsea Football Club first filed the name 'Jose Mourinho' as a trademark.
Someone at the club with remarkable foresight saw that the man who had led Chelsea to their first ever Premier League title was more than simply a football manager.
Through this manoeuvre, and a number of other actions over the years, Chelsea find themselves as the only organisation able to use Mourinho's name to make profit from cosmetics, technology, clothing, jewellery, ceramics, glassware or games.
See how Jose Mourinho made it to Manchester United:
It seems that when Mourinho went to first Inter, and then Real Madrid, this was largely ignored.
But now Manchester United are to employ the coach, it is a different story for Chelsea.
That is in part because United are a domestic rival; but also because the Reds merchandise machine is a massive and lucrative industry; and in the world of Financial Fair Play, Chelsea have to drive for every last penny they are due.
The two clubs are chasing revenue in the same markets, particularly when it comes to the Far East, and if United want to launch a range of Jose Mourinho tracksuits or powder compacts (not as outlandish as it may sound), Chelsea will expect their fair share.
The financial sums here are said to be in the millions, and that raises the very real prospect that young players could end up being salaried through promotional deals involving a man who largely refused to play them.
In practical terms, of course, it seems utterly improbable that United will want to give some year-on-year percentage of their merchandise revenue to another club.
The reality is that lawyers will agree a sum, and there will be a one-off payment to take into account likely earnings from the name between now, and 2025 – when Chelsea's ownership of it ends.
In short Mourinho, or United, will buy back the name.
But does Chelsea's future earning potential from Mourinho stop there?
A very good source tells me that when club and coach parted company, the severance deal included exactly the sort of restrictive covenants you might expect to see when a chief executive leaves a FTSE 250 company.
It is a matter of conjecture as to exactly what that means, but such a deal would usually prevent the use of systems or personnel at a new employer that were relied upon with the old one.
Much of that will be difficult to prove: short of planting a mole at Carrington, it would be simply impossible to know what methods and information Mourinho employs with his new club.
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Personnel is a little bit easier to police – which is why stories linking Willian or Nemanja Matic with a move to Old Trafford are particularly interesting.
It is likely there will have been a clause to prevent Mourinho taking players or staff with him to Manchester.
In football, of course, you can never stand in the way of player power: there really is little point in keeping a professional who wants out.
But it does raise the prospect that, with additional restrictions needing to be lifted in the case of such players, there really may be one price for everyone else, and a significantly higher one for United.
None of this will stop Mourinho taking up his new role at Old Trafford.
But for the lawyers, and the money men, there is still much to be settled.
Certainly for Chelsea there will be a valuable, and in some quarters unexpected bonus, to follow the heartbreak of sacking their most successful ever manager for a second time.
Video: Jose Mourinho's classic quotes down the years
