it's all subjective. a year down the line if the players have performed nobody will even mention the fees we paid for these players. i was speaking to a fan the other day and he was banging on about these players having a "re-sale value". i honestly couldn't believe what i was hearing.
it's market forces unfortunately and you have to pay the going rate nowadays. as said united have been breaking the transfer record for years. chelsea completely inflated the market by overspending on players just to stop other teams buying them (SWP for example). now real madrid and man city are doing it and will continue to do so.