Take, for example: 

Paul Pogba

With the ink barely dry on Pogba's Manchester United contract, a new game appears to have emerged: Who leaked the official signing first? Wild theories abound, from Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho's wife, to Mourinho himself, to Pogba's mum - said to be a key figure in the Frenchman's return to the Premier League - to UK rapper Stormzy. 

It's this last one we like the best, as Stormzy shot to notoriety after uploading this comical video to his Facebook page pre-official announcement, only to hastily take it down:

Regardless of who, or what you believe, it appears only fitting that after months of relentless, beaten-up tabloid speculation, news of the actual signing should break early. 

John Stones

The clamour to claim responsibility for the Pogba leak lends an appropriate 'circus' feel to a transfer story that had become tedious by the time Stormzy's video cheered up the internet. Not so with City signing John Stones, inadvertently leaked by UEFA, which listed him in a City team sheet before the news became official. Theories abound as to how UEFA got the heads-up on the Everton defender's $A75 million move, the most popular being that City tipped off the European governing body. 

Granit Xhaka

Remember when Arsenal unveiled its third-most expensive signing, Granite Xhaka, in may? No? Well, you'll be even harder-pressed to recall when images of Xhaka in the Gunners' kit leaked out before the romance became 'official'.

Leaked pictures confirm Granit Xhaka's move to Arsenal AND reveals new 2016/17 kit https://t.co/rOiARyedqM pic.twitter.com/aPMgG5aqPJ — Indy Football (@IndyFootball) May 21, 2016

Ever-optimistic Gunners fans hoped the pictures were the first signs of the long hoped-for glut of signings that would thrust the team back into the upper echelons of Premier League title favouritism. As it turns out, they weren't.

Paul Ince

It wouldn't be right to mention the Xhaka shirt faux pas without also throwing a nod to Paul Ince, who went from West Ham hero to villain in the space of one foolhardy decision to pose in a Manchester United shirt. The year was 1989 and Ince was the subject of Pogba-like speculation he was on his way out of second division West Ham United, with Manchester United the mooted destination. 

When the player obliged a news photographer from the Daily Express by posing in a Red Devils shirt, weeks before the deal was completed, he became a hated figure among the Hammers faithful. That he failed his first medical with the Red Devils was a moot point to those Hammers faithful who felt betrayed by the player. 

Tim Cahill

Tim Cahill? 

No club from the City Group has confirmed his long-speculated-upon move to A-League incarnation, Melbourne City. But if images of him taking selfies with Frank Lampard, David Villa and Andrea Pirlo - dressed suspiciously in the colours of New York City - are any guide, the decorated Socceroos star is headed Down Under, via the now-familiar route of a loan deal. 

When might we see Tim #Cahill make his @ALeague debut? @davutovic with the details - https://t.co/mu1i2XQyq1 pic.twitter.com/tnhoC9o2kC — Herald Sun Sport (@heraldsunsport) August 7, 2016

The selfie itself hasn't appeared anywhere, although we're betting it might if the MLS arm of the football superpower confirms reports Cahill as undergone a medical and will soon be playing in the A-League.