Barcelona Facing 'Decisive Days' in Pursuit of Paul Pogba With Man Utd Determined to Resist Sale
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has been linked with a huge move to Spanish giants Barcelona (again) in recent days, and the rest of this week will be a decisive period in determining the French World Cup winner's future.
Barcelona have already moved to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal in a deal which was certainly cheaper than any deal for Pogba would be, but reports from Spain have still intimated that they want Pogba in addition to the Chilean.
The player's agent, Mino Raiola, was reported at the weekend to be ready to travel to Manchester in order to broker a £100m deal.
United though, according to Gerard Romero, remain determined to keep the player in spite of Raiola's attempts. United still believe that he's the right man for their midfield - the World Cup proved that he's still one of the best in the world - while the club would not be able to sign a replacement before Thursday's transfer deadline.
To further hint that the move isn't going to come off, a Barcelona-based reporter has stated that the club will not be looking to sign the Frenchman.
Lluis Mascaro, writing for Spanish outlet Sport, believes that Barcelona would be priced out of a move for Pogba, as both his transfer fee and wage demands would almost certainly be astronomical.
IAN KINGTON/GettyImages
The links between Pogba and Barcelona have grown amid reports of a fallout between the Frenchman and manager Jose Mourinho. Italian outlet Tuttosport reported that Mourinho asked his senior players to return to training earlier than originally discussed, but Pogba refused to cut short his holidays.
Instead, Pogba organised a huge party for his friends and family in Los Angeles, and Mourinho is believed to be furious at the 25-year-old for refusing to return to the club. The relationship between the pair is already believed to be poor, and this clash will only have worsened Mourinho's opinion of Pogba.
Links with Barcelona, as well as a spectacular return to Juventus, were quickly rumoured. However, following Juventus's blockbuster signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, the Italian club may now have ruled themselves out of any move.
Mike Hewitt/GettyImages
Pogba joined Manchester United for a fee of around £89m in 2016 and is under contract with the Red Devils until 2021. Should the club look to sell Pogba, they would almost certainly demand a huge transfer figure.
His move to Manchester saw him become the most expensive player in history, but his record has been completely eclipsed recently, following PSG's £198m signing of Neymar. With players becoming more expensive, any future transfer fee for Pogba would certainly be huge.
