Six of the Top Ten. Last in the East.

Atlanta United just wrote another eight-figure check. The last one bounced.

Three days ago I said a rapper defended this city harder than two players drawing United paychecks. Now Culebro's answer is an $18M wire transfer to Rennes for Breel Embolo -- the third-most expensive incoming transfer in MLS history.

The second-most expensive? Emmanuel Latte Lath. Also Atlanta United. Twenty-two million dollars. Nine MLS goals. Roughly $2.4 million per goal before they shipped him to Union Berlin and kept paying his salary.

Here is the part nobody is saying out loud: Atlanta United owns six of the top ten most expensive incoming MLS transfers ever. They are last in the Eastern Conference. Three wins. Twelve points. Those two sentences should not be able to coexist. And yet.

Embolo has the resume -- 90-plus Swiss caps, 10 goals at Rennes last season, four World Cup goals across two tournaments. He also has 15 career injuries and has missed 41 percent of his matches. On the MBS turf that fans have been begging the club to replace.

This is not about whether Embolo is talented. He is. This is about whether $18M means anything when the last $22M taught you nothing.

I wrote the receipt on August 12. The paychecks keep getting bigger. The results have not moved.

Tell me why this time is different.