Paul Pogba: to be world’s most expensive player
Manchester United have submitted an increased bid of £92m (€110m) plus a further €10m in add-ons to sign Paul Pogba in a world-record move, but negotiations with Juventus continue as the Serie A champions attempt to extract the best possible financial deal. Juve are seeking an additional €10m and have informed United that their €95m signing of Gonzalo Higuaín from Napoli does not mean they will be forced to sell Pogba.
The France midfielder’s agent, Mino Raiola, has discussed the terms of a five‑year contract with United and it is understood his wage demands have been met. But United will need to dig further into their pocket to secure the services of a player who left Old Trafford in 2012 after refusing to sign a new contract having made seven senior appearances for the club.
If the transfer takes place Pogba will earn a basic salary of about £11m a year plus incentives at Old Trafford, and retain sponsorship and image rights. The 23-year-old, who is contracted to Juve until the end of the 2018-19 season, is currently on holiday but eager to return to United despite them not being in the Champions League. He would be their fourth major signing since José Mourinho took over, though the manager insists he has other options if the move does not happen.
Raiola’s fees, understood to be about 20% of the initial sum paid to Juve, must also be paid entirely by United but the finer details of that agreement have not been finalised. Two of the Dutch agent’s other players, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, have already signed for United this summer.
Higuaín’s move to Turin will be confirmed imminently after the Bianconeri met the Argentina striker’s €94.7m release clause at Napoli. The 28-year-old underwent a secretive medical at a hospital in Madrid on Friday under the eyes of Juve staff and is likely to be unveiled in the middle of this week. Yet the Italians insist that they do not need to sell Pogba to pay for Higuaín, who is set to become the second most expensive player of all time, only behind Gareth Bale’s move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013.
Pogba joined United’s youth team from Le Havre in 2009 in controversial circumstances, with the French club making a complaint to Fifa about the means in which he was brought to Manchester, though a judge appointed by the governing body subsequently cleared the English club of any wrongdoing. He impressed for the underage teams and broke through to the first-team squad in 2011, but found game time hard to come by under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The then manager has previously said Pogba lacked respect by refusing to sign a new contract, instead choosing to join Juventus on a free, where he has grown into one of the world’s best midfielders.
He has won four Serie A titles and the Coppa Italia twice but was criticised for failing to make an impact on the two biggest games of his career – this summer’s European Championship final, in which France lost 1-0 in extra-time to Portugal, and Juve’s Champions League final defeat by Barcelona in 2015. Pogba has made 178 appearances for Juve, scoring 34 goals, but is eager to find a new challenge.
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