Manchester United’s chase of Paul Pogba has hit a problem, with Juventus offering their talented star a mega-bucks contract in a bid to keep him at the club. The French midfielder is apparently the subject of a record-breaking £105 million bid that United are preparing, but Pogba will be offered a massive pay-rise of €7m a year in a new contract that will keep him in Serie A until 2021.
According to a report by Goal, Juventus are intent on keeping Pogba, offering to increase the Frenchman’s salary from €4.5m a year to a massive €7m annually, with the Bianconeri’s offer of a 5-year-contract seen as favourable by the Frenchman, whose agent claims he is keen to stay.
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Speaking to The Times, Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola said, “There is a lot of talk about Paul's future, but maybe he will not leave Juventus. He is in no rush to leave, and Juventus do not want him to go. They want him to renew his contract. Paul is not desperate to move. We are very happy at Juventus and they are a club that want to keep their star players.”
Juventus chief preparing for exits, admits Higuain transfer is unlikely
While the rumours around Pogba swirl around, Juventus are dealing with the future of a number of stars who have impressed in Euro 2016. Juve director Fabio Paratici, however, brushed it aside as normal, saying “All the big clubs know that their top players can receive tempting offers. At Juve, for example, we have the [Leonardo] Bonucci and [Paul] Pogba interest from many clubs and are prepared for possible replacements.”
Paratici went on to address rumours of a shock move for Gonzalo Higuain, saying “That is what Napoli would be doing as well, certainly. However, Higuain for us is a distant thing. I hear that Napoli like more than one of our players, but I guarantee at this moment there are no offers and no negotiations.”
With Pogba likely to stay, Jose Mourinho is set to be denied the last of the four transfers he had asked for with Manchester United. In an interview with ESPN, the Fernchman described Manchester United as “my first family”, but then clarified himself, saying of Juventus : “That’s my team, my family. It’s where I am playing.”