Early signs that a deal was imminent came when Pogba didn’t travel with the Juventus squad to London for their 3-2 friendly win against West Ham United on Sunday.
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However, Real, never ones to shirk paying huge money for stars like Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo in recent years, didn’t pursue the player, leaving Pogba’s options to either moving to United or remaining with Juventus.
United announced on Sunday ahead of their 2-1 Community Shield win over Leicester at Wembley that Pogba had been given permission by Juventus to undergo a medical with the Red Devils ahead of a world-record £112 million transfer. I think the market was good for us, but we need to work a lot, a lot, a lot. What you think this season is insane, you realise that three years later it’s not insane any more. “It’s awesome that such a good player is with us”.
He will become United’s fourth signing since Mourinho took over as manager, following the acquisitions of the defender Eric Bailly, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Pogba will join young Ivorian defender Eric Bailly, Armenian global Henrikh Mkhitaryan and veteran Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in arriving at Old Trafford this summer.
United start their Premier League campaign at Bournemouth next Sunday, with Pogba potentially in line to make his second United debut four years on from his initial departure for Juventus. If you go to Barca or Madrid you are in trouble, because I don’t think the other two big guys will let you develop to that level.
“Finally we have him. We have everything to offer him and he is coming because he knows the club and the city and he wants to be a part of the Manchester United project”.
Pogba is expected to earn a basic salary of about £11 million a year plus incentives at Old Trafford, and retain sponsorship and image rights. The overall fee is likely to reach €120 million with add-ons factored in and United have also agreed to pay the substantial cut commanded by Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, who acted as an intermediary between the clubs during discussions.
Now the Frenchman is among the brightest young talents in the game after winning four successive Serie A titles with Juventus and becoming a regular for his national team.
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“Money he would get at many big clubs so that is not the point. Hopefully everything goes well”.
