One Tuesday night in 2007, under the floodlights of after-school training for Chelsea's under-nines, Declan Rice and Mason Mount met for the first time.
The pair have been friends ever since. Known as "Dumb and Dumber" by sharp-tongued teammates of the past, Rice and Mount were, by their own admission, "joined at the hip".
Rice was forced to leave Chelsea as a 14-year-old. Mount lasted a decade longer before ending his long-standing association with the club this summer. Even though they haven't played together at club level since their teenage days, the refreshingly innocent bromance has continued to blossom.
Both halves of the partnership have been the subject of hefty transfers this summer. Rice, born four days after Mount in January 1999, has stayed in London, swapping West Ham for Arsenal while the senior member of the duo has made the move north to Manchester United.
Both have come a long way from bouncing on the trampoline in Mount's back garden. Here's how their reported wage packets compare.
Mason Mount's reported wages at Man Utd
Mount had begun training with Chelsea once a week at the tender age of four - years before Rice arrived on the AstroTurf. After 20 years with the west London outfit, Mount couldn't agree to a new contract with the club's controversial ownership.
Manchester United spotted the opening and pounced to secure a deal worth £55m initially. The Red Devils have reportedly trebled Mount's wages, with the England international raking in somewhere in the region of £250,000 per week on a five-year contract.
If Mount hits certain targets, he could earn as much as £300,000 a week which would represent a seismic jump from his previous seven-day salary of £80,000 at Chelsea.
A base wage of £13m would put Mount in the same tier as Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes at United. Fellow England international Marcus Rashford is on the cusp of agreeing to a new contract at Old Trafford that would make him the club's highest-paid player, earning considerably more than Mount at around £375,000 a week.
READ THE TRANSFER RUMOURS OF THE PAST WEEK HERE
Declan Rice's reported wages at Arsenal
Rice is also in line for a generous pay-hike. The former West Ham captain was on £60,000 per week last season. Despite being widely regarded as the club's best player, half the first-team squad commanded a larger salary than Rice (including the scarcely-used Maxwel Cornet).
Arsenal have spent a record-breaking fee of £105m to prise Rice out of east London and aren't exactly being stingy with his salary either. Rice is expected to earn in the region of £250,000-a-week - the same sum as his best pal.
Rice may be on equal economic footing with Mount but his new pay packet is dwarfed by another Arsenal recruit. Kai Havertz cost the Gunners almost half as much as Rice (£60m initial fee) but is set to command an eye-watering £330,000 per week.
The Gunners have been incredibly aggressive in the summer window, combining hefty transfer fees with generous contract extensions for their existing stars. Last season, only Gabriel Jesus (£265,000) earned more than Rice at Arsenal. However, following the bumps received by Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Martinelli this calendar year, Arsenal's wage bill is unlikely to remain as lowly ranked as the sixth-highest in the Premier League next term.
This article was originally published on 90min as Mason Mount's wages at Man Utd compared to Declan Rice at Arsenal.
