Paul Pogba’s much rumoured move to Manchester United took a serious turn, with Juventus reportedly rejecting the first offer presented to them. The Frenchman’s agent, who had earlier dismissed rumours of a move, has reportedly presented a world-record £100 million offer, inclusive of £13 million in performance add-ons, but the Serie A giants are holding out for a much more massive fee.
According to highly-respected reporter Gianluca DiMarzio, Manchester United Executive Vice President Ed Woodward and Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola met face-to-face with Juventus representatives for the first time and presented a world-record offer, but the Bianconeri shot back the Premier League club’s bid.
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The report also claims that Pogba is leaning towards a move to Old Trafford, since the Red Devils have offered him a massive pay-package of €13 million annually, which dwarfs the €7 million offer that Juventus had made to the Frenchman a few days ago in a bid to keep him at the club.
However, it seems that Juventus have now resigned themselves to the fact that Pogba will leave the club and have responded to United’s offer with a counter-offer that asks for £108 million in total, with £100 million up front and a further £8 million in performance related add-ons.
Conflicting reports of Pogba’s future
While there have been widespread reports of a bid for Pogba, Goal UK have reported that the French midfielder’s agent, Mino Raiola, has dismissed rumours of a move to Manchester United. In his typically uncensored manner, when contacted, Raiola responded “All of what you read is bulls***. That’s all there is.”
In addition, Zinedine Zidane’s recent comments in admiration of Pogba has set the rumour-mill alight that Real Madrid might be in prime position for his signature, with the French legend saying “Do I like Pogba? Of course, he’s a very good player and every club wants the best players but right now he’s at Juve and we have a large squad already.”
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If the transfer to Manchester United does go through, it will represent a significant coup for Jose Mourinho, who had identified four targets, namely Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Eric Bailly and reportedly Paul Pogba. Mino Raoila is the agent for three of those mentioned, and could prove to be the biggest facilitator for the deal.
Whatever the outcome of the transfer, what is sure is that Pogba will not be lining up for Manchester United in the Community Shield against Leicester City, which takes place on August 7th, a date too soon for the Frenchman who lost out in the finals of the UEFA Euro 2016 to Portugal.
