Over the past few years, Brentford have turned tidy profits on a number of high-profile player sales.
Since 2020, the London club has sold Bryan Mbuemo to Manchester United for £65m (€75m), Yoane Wissa to Newcastle United for £50m (€57.7m), Ivan Toney to Al Ahli for £36m (€42m ), Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa for £28m (€34m) and David Raya to Arsenal for £27m (€31.9m).
After the 2025/26 season ended, many felt they were on the verge of adding to that list with another huge sale.
However, the FIFA World Cup seemingly came at the worst possible time for the bees, and it looks like they will not be able to command the sort of eye-watering fee for one of their most prominent stars that they would have otherwise hoped for.
Referencing this situation, a meme has been doing the rounds on social media of late, which features an iconic scene from critically acclaimed TV show “Breaking Bad”. In the scene, Saul Goodman’s henchman, Huell Babineaux (played by Lavell Crawford), looks at a massive pile of drug money inside a storage locker, before lying down and sleeps soundly right on top of the cash.
In Brentford’s context, the meme jokes about how rich the club could have been, had it not been a World Cup year. Since being posted on Thursday, the meme has gone viral, accumulating over 47,000 likes and 2,200 reposts.
brentford ceo if the world cup did not happen this year pic.twitter.com/9bBEIY7S2m
— ່ (@pxrcyishim) August 13, 2026
The player being referenced in the post is none other than star striker Igor Thiago, who finished second in the Premier League goalscoring charts, scoring 22 goals and providing one assist.
In addition to his fine performances, a major factor contributing to the hype surrounding Igor Thiago is the lack of elite strikers that is apparent in European football at the moment. As a result of these factors, estimates claimed Thiago could have been sold for a sum in excess of £90m.
However, the opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream ended up damaging Thiago’s reputation to the point that his transfer valuation took a significant hit. As of now, his estimated transfer market value stands at around £45-50m.
After being so successful in front of goal in arguably the most physically demanding league in world football, Igor Thiago was included in Brazil’s squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, fulfilling a dream every Brazilian child has from the moment they begin playing football as a youngster.
Based on the pre-tournament friendlies, he appeared to be a big part of manager Carlo Ancelloti’s plans, considering he was the only out-and-out #9 on the roster.
As a result, he got the nod to start his nation’s tournament opener against Morocco. However, things quickly went south.
Morocco dominated much of the ball and also took an early lead, which left Brazil chasing the game. Thiago, as a result, was starved of service and failed to get into the thick of things. He lost possession four times and even missed one big chance, as completely mistiming his header with the goal at his mercy early in the game while the score was still 0-0. He was ultimately substituted for Matheus Cunha in the 62nd minute.
After the game against Morocco, he did not feature at all for the rest of the tournament, and this likely caused some of the teams potentially interested in signing him to have second thoughts.
The fact that Thiago played only one game and never again hints at the fact that Ancelotti did not like what he saw from the big striker, despite having trusted him initially. For a big club looking to compete for the biggest titles, this was perhaps the biggest factor that may have convinced many to look for alternative options.
After plenty of rumors linked him to big moves earlier in the summer, it appears Igor Thiago might stay put at the Gtech Community Stadium for another year, and perhaps that turns out to be a blessing in disguise for Brentford.
