Manchester United have had their first formal bid for Paul Pogba, believed to be in the region of £100 million, turned down by Juventus as the Italian champions felt that the bid was well short of their valuation of the player.
The meeting between Mino Raiola, Paul Pogba’s agent, and representatives from both clubs on Tuesday culminated in Manchester United officially submitting a whopping £100 million bid for the French international. The deal also included performance related kickers in the excess of £8 million which meant the total value of United’s supposed bid was £108 million, a fee that would make Pogba the most expensive player in the world by some distance.
However, Juventus’ representatives, Giuseppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici were quick to reject the offer, citing that it was well short of how much they valued their French superstar. Raiola has reportedly agreed on Pogba’s personal terms with Manchester United and is prepared to bring his third client to the 20-time Premier League champions this summer having already sealed moves for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan earlier. With a staggering £250k per week wage package on offer, even Pogba has his head turned by a possible return to the very club he left on a free transfer to Turin.
The 23-year old is however relaxed about his future as he is just as happy staying at Juventus as he is about leaving for Manchester United. Real Madrid are the only club who could possibly come close to challenging the English club’s bid for Pogba. However, the Los Blancos’ interest in the French international has dimmed in recent weeks and has seen them go ahead with a move for Valencia’s Andre Gomes instead. Hence the path is well and truly clear for Ed Woodward & co. to go ahead and capture their man.
Raiola could also play a big role in influencing the Frenchman’s transfer as he has reportedly made it clear to the Juventus officials that he wants his client to be playing in the Premier League next year. The agent’s approach is of course a by-product of the agreement of personal terms between him and United which could go some way into forcing the Old Lady to soften their hold on Pogba.
Manchester United have supposedly postponed the announcement and unveiling of their player’s kit numbers as they feel they could cash in on Pogba’s possible arrival through shirt sales. The squad led by Jose Mourinho have flown to China to play friendlies against Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City before they fly back home ahead of their Community Shield encounter against Leicester City on August 7, a week before the start of the new Premier League season.
The Red Devils have already signed Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer and the arrival of Pogba would cap off a remarkable transfer window for the Old Trafford club. Mourinho is desperate to have the transfer completed as soon as possible and wants his entire squad to have enough practice ahead of the new season.
