Manchester United midfield general Paul Pogba is all set to demand a DOUBLE wage pack to match his numbers with that of Alexis Sanchez, quotes a report from Daily Mirror.
Pogba, who rejoined Manchester United back in 2016 on a five-year contract, currently earns a £200,000-a-week salary at Man United, while Alexis Sanchez – whose transfer is all but done – will reportedly earn a whopping package of £400,000-a-week with the club over the next four-and-a-half years. All this, according to the sources, “has raised the bar in the Old Trafford pay stakes.”
Having said that, Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola is all set for an extensive talk with United’s hierarchy regarding his current pay. The Italian agent will put his point that his client’s current wage pack of £200,000-a-week “is no longer the going rate for a player of his stature.”
Raiola also represents the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Manchester United, and it was him who convinced the United board to make Ibrahimovic the club’s highest-ever earner in 2016 when the former Sweden international was given £367,000-a-week to come to the Premier League.
Meanwhile, as things stand for Pogba, the Frenchman initially joined Manchester United a £167,000-a-week salary, but with United winning the UEFA Europa League and getting promoted to the Champions League, his salary was hiked to £200,000-a-week by a certain clause. Pogba still has three years left on his current contract, while on the other hand, United also have an option of extending his stay by a further 12 months.
As far as Alexis Sanchez is concerned, BBC have confirmed that the deal is all but done as Henrikh Mkhitaryan has agreed to personal terms with Arsenal. Sanchez was in Manchester last night to have a medical.
Do you think Paul Pogba deserves a pay rise at Manchester United? Or should he wait for a year before asking for a pay rise?
Well firstly the original story was wrong and Pogba is on close on £300,000 already not the £200,000 the story claimed. Furthermore, Sanchez’s ‘wages’ apparently involve an installment based signing on fee. The Mirror are playing fast and loose with the figures to hype up the story (but when don’t they?)
Secondly it would be expected, not least when represented by sewer detritus like Raiola, that Pogba would expect a pay rise when negotiating his contract (Sanchez or no Sanchez) and no doubt the United board have factored in the step change in their wages model that will result from Sanchez’s arrival (nb United have already made David De Gea the highest paid goalkeeper in the world).
However, the biggest driver for a successful increase of the sort of levels we are talking about would be if another club were interested in meeting his demands and that is where Pogba’s aspirations may fall down. There really are only 4 clubs (Real, Barca, City and PSG) who would even dream of paying that sort of money and would they pay it for someone who wastes clear chances such as those he wasted at Burnley? I really do not see Pogba fitting in either at Barca or City and Real’s midfield is already well complimented. So unless PSG come a sniffing (and that sort of money for a midfielder blows their pay structure out of the water too), I suspect Pogba is going to have to settle for what United are willing to offer him.
Whilst Pogba is an excellent player and has made a significant difference to United he often makes the wrong choice on the pitch. Less ego and more team spirit is what he should be aiming for (especially if he is captain material as Mourinho believes). That will be the best way that he will ensure he gets a pay rise somewhere close to what he wants