Report Claims Real Madrid Also Spurned Mino Raiola Offer to Sign Paul Pogba in January Window

Real Madrid turned down the opportunity to sign Paul Pogba after the Manchester United star was offered to them by Mino Raiola, according to one report.

In further sensational paper talk that follows quick on the heels of claims from Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola that he was offered Pogba in January, Grant Wahl writing for  Sports Illustrated reports that Los Blancos were also given the chance to sign the French midfielder.

However, much like City, Real declined to make a bid for Pogba and are now thought to have spoken about 'dodging a bullet' within the corridors of power at Santiago Bernabeu.

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Pogba was said to have been offered to Premier League leaders City by Guardiola, who claimed that Raiola gave him the opportunity to land the 23-year-old - alongside then teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan - in the January transfer window.

It would now seem that City weren't the only European side who were offered Pogba's services, and there was a slight chance that Real could have lured him to La Liga instead.

However, Zinedine Zidane's side opted not to pursue a transfer for the ex-Juventus man due to his £200,000-a-week wages - a salary that Sports Illustrated's report has claimed would throw off Real's wage structure.

Quite why that was the main reason behind not pursuing a chance to sign Pogba is unclear, especially when Real aren't afraid to offer big wages to their best players.

What the speculation does do, though, is add further fuel to the fire that all was not well between Pogba and United boss Jose Mourinho in and around the turn of the year.

The duo were said to have had a falling out that led to Pogba being demoted to the substitutes' bench for a number of matches, and his future in Manchester adorned the back pages of national papers for a few weeks.

It appears that the pair have since repaired their relationship, and Pogba proved his worth to United by bagging a quick-fire brace in the shock 3-2 victory over City in the Manchester derby last Saturday.