Patrick Rees
Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona are reportedly planning an audacious £120million bid for Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, in an attempt to beat arch-rivals Real Madrid.
The 24-year-old midfielder, who joined Manchester United from Juventus back in 2016 for a then world record £89m fee, is heavily linked with a move away from Manchester United with reports claiming that he has had a massive fallout with manager Jose Mourinho. The reports of a potential fallout came just days after he was dropped to the bench in the Premier League as well as in the UEFA Champions League.
The Sun has even quoted that the Frenchman has already made up his mind on moving away from Old Trafford and has issued an ultimatum to the club’s hierarchy – either Mourinho goes or he goes.
However, there are many unrealistic claims as well, as the aforementioned source quotes his former club Juventus have inserted a £53m buyback clause. Why would Manchester United agree to add this £53m buy-back clause if they have already paid £89m for him?
So while these rumours seem unrealistic, an exit cannot be put away from the table, given that the suitors are Real Madrid and Barcelona. The latter, on their part, are looking to add a midfield general as Andres Iniesta is approaching the climax of his illustrious career.
So as per Spanish journalist Eduardo Inda, the Catalans have identified Paul Pogba as a perfect candidate but they won’t spend more than £120m for the Frenchman.
“Barca want Pogba as long as it costs them less than £120m,” Inda told El Chiringuito TV.
Jose Mourinho, on the other hand, has branded all these speculations as “a lot of lies,” but has admitted that Pogba is not playing well right now. When addressing the media about the aforementioned fallout, the manager denied it.
“You can call it speculation, I would call it a lot of lies,” Mourinho said
“Paul accepts he has not been playing well in the last few matches but that is all.
“It is a big lie that we don’t communicate, that we don’t agree about his best position and that we don’t have a good relationship.”
Pogba started for United against Chelsea and although he wasn’t that spectacular, he completed full 90 minutes.
Do you think Pogba would leave the club this summer?
