United reject Barca’s Pogba bid

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba may have wished to leave Old Trafford and coach Jose Mourinho’s shadow in this transfer window but he will not get his wish this summer, at least that is what Spanish outlets Marca and Sport reported.

British and Spanish media had earlier reported that FC Barcelona offered to take Pogba in exchange for around £40m plus two players – the centre-back Yerry Mina and the midfielder Andre Gomes. Manchester United however outright rejected the bid.

According to Marca, Pogba wanted to leave but he also did not intend to ever go to war with his club over it either. He looked for a negotiated exit to the Bianconeri, who had a first option on him if he did look to leave, due to his personal history in Turin.

Mourinho still is of the opinion that Pogba is a key player for the Red Devils and although the player’s agent had wanted to make United sell the player to Barca but the talks with the Catalans did not produce anything productive.

Pogba, a key member of the French team that won the World Cup in Russia last month, was part of United's youth set-up but, short of first-team opportunities, opted to join Juventus in 2012.

Mourinho brought the Frenchman back to Manchester in 2016 for a then world-record fee of £89 million ($115 million) but he struggled last season, left out of the starting line-up or substituted on a number of occasions.