Now that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has replaced Jose Mourinho, talk of Paul Pogba leaving Manchester United has pretty much dissipated. No single player has been involved in as many goals as Pogba since Solskjaer took over, and the interim boss even said today that the Frenchman is team captain material again.
While the midfielder obviously didn’t get along at with the previous manager, he seems to have found himself again under the new boss. He’s flourishing, and now performing at a level commensurate with the expectations that accompany the most expensive player in English football history.
Of course, there may come a time when he leaves United, and if/when it happens, the list of potential destinations is very short due to financial concerns. Only the biggest, most lucrative clubs can afford him, and his brother Florentin spelled that out in an interview with Spanish outlet AS.
“When my brother eventually leaves Manchester United he can only go to three teams to improve — City, Real Madrid or Barca,” Florentin said.
“He will not go to City, so he will come to Spain, either to Barca or Real Madrid.”
Perhaps Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola may not be too thrilled with these comments, as it just eliminated, or at least limited, a couple of his negotiating tactics for when the time comes to do the deal. Paul Pogba has already played for another giant, superrich club in Juventus and we’ve seen him linked to Barcelona already somewhat in transfer rumors.
Florentin said Barca were interested, as were the other club in the El Clasico rivalry.
“When he was at Juve he could have gone to Barca, but he was determined to return to Manchester where he had not succeeded in his first spell,” Florentin continued.
“There was also a move made by [then Real Madrid coach Zinedine] Zidane, although his desire was to return to England.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.