Aston Villa were hours away from a 10-point deduction that would have derailed their season before they sold Douglas Luiz to Juventus in the nick of time.
Even as they were celebrating qualifying for the Champions League in May, Villa officials knew they faced a race against the clock to meet Premier League spending regulations by the June 30 deadline.
They had agreed to let Luiz join Juventus in May, but there was precious little time to spare when the deal was concluded. Rather than pay the full asking price, Juventus wanted to include two of their youngsters in the deal, with the clubs finally settling on Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea.
'We found ourselves in a situation where we had make an important profit to avoid being in breach with the PSR (profit and sustainability rules),' said Damian Vidagany, Villa's director of football operations. 'It was very challenging.
'Everybody was cheering and celebrating the Champions League, but Monchi (Villa's transfer chief) and I were at the party thinking how we could avoid a points deduction that would have spoiled a wonderful season. There was a bomb with the countdown, and we were there to cut the cable. We arrived at the last second with this problem.
Douglas Luiz pictured playing for Aston Villa last season before he was sold this summer
Villa finished fourth in the Premier League last season, qualifying for the Champions League
'From May 20 until June 30 is normally the holiday period for everyone in football, but for us it was a very difficult moment. It's not just about selling players who will ensure you make a profit. At the same time you have to sell the players that (manager) Unai Emery believes are not crucial for the team.'
Villa did not disclose how many points they feared they would lose, but Mail Sport understands it was around 10. Everton and Nottingham Forest were both docked points for PSR breaches last season.
There was a sense towards the end of last season that Luiz was no longer listening to Emery as attentively as before. Anyone who witnessed the rollicking Emery gave the midfielder during Villa's 4-2 home defeat by Olympiacos would have thought something was amiss.
Monchi, Vidagany and Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli found a way through: £42m to Villa for Luiz, with Iling-Junior and Barrenechea heading to Villa Park. Both have left on loan but are considered important assets with manageable salaries who will fight for spots at Villa next summer.
'We had a lot of offers for Jacob Ramsey,' revealed Vidagany. 'But he is a player Unai wants and we were against this solution.'
Villa also received multiple offers for Jacob Ramsey this summer but they did not want to sell
Villa boss Unai Emery pictured last month ahead of his team's first home game of the season
Villa's two decision-makers were never going to over-ride the most important man at the club. Emery has taken Villa from a relegation battle to the Champions League in less than two years and wields the sort of power Sir Alex Ferguson had at Manchester United.
Monchi added: 'If we sold Ramsey, it would be solved. And we could have because we had offers. Another solution was to put Ollie Watkins on the market. We could have sold the best keeper in the world, Emi Martinez. We also had offers for him.'
Monchi stressed Villa must not be scared to sell players. The Spaniard built a reputation as one of the finest sporting directors in the game across two spells at Sevilla and may have to work similar magic to ensure Villa can continue to compete with England's wealthiest clubs.
Monchi added: 'We need to have the mindset that to sell a player means revenue for the club, because we cannot have more revenue from elsewhere. The most important thing is not selling players. The most important thing is to buy well.
'Manchester City sell players, Arsenal sell players, Real Madrid and Barcelona sell players. The important thing is to have a buyer and a player to replace the one you sell.'