The Paul Pogba transfer saga has been around Real Madrid for more than a year, and there appears to be no clarity on the situation.
Due to an injury, Paul Pogba was only able to log 521 Premier League minutes for Manchester United in the 2019-2020 season, assisting twice. Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has remained interested in signing Pogba despite the emergence of Fede Valverde as a standout No. 8 in Los Blancos’ midfield.
Meanwhile, Florentino Perez is unconvinced, noting how much Manchester United seem to be asking in return for Pogba. United know that Pogba is one of the most talented midfielders in world football, and a healthy, properly utilized Pogba could be a Ballon d’Or candidate.
According to a report from The Athletic, via Football365.com, some sources say that Pogba has essentially agreed to a deal with Real Madrid. These sources claim that this agreement between player and club is “all but done”.
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However, other sources tell the publication that Pogba “could well re-sign” and is working extra hard to return from his injury.
The tea leaves in the press have been similarly opaque. Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recently said that Pogba will stay this summer, whereas everything up to that point made it seem like he would ask to leave.
Pogba has seemingly wanted to join Real Madrid and Zidane for quite some time, but United’s high asking price prevented Los Merengues from swinging a deal last summer.
Valverde’s emergence, which includes several Man of the Match performances in big games like El Derbi and El Clasico, has complicated matters.
However, Pogba could be a massive boost to Real at the right price, and Zidane does have a lot of influence here.
Los Blancos are the type of club that Pogba could truly break out at, though the issue with Real is that they need to spend money on goals. They already have a strong midfield with players like Isco, Valverde, and Toni Kroos coming off great performances.
Pogba shined at United in his limited appearance, showing the technical quality and world-class passing that have made him one of the game’s most intelligent and classy midfielders. Defending isn’t his strength, but he put in hard work and defended capably when asked to be the glue of the team.
There’s no clarity on Pogba’s future, so it appears we are headed for another wild summer. United’s signing of Bruno Fernandes could be enough to convince Pogba to stay and give the Red Devils one last chance, but he may feel burned after United failed in their effort to build a cohesive team around the World Cup-winning superstar.