The 23-year-old, given the number six shirt by United, has signed a five-year contract with Jose Mourinho’s team, four years after leaving to join Juventus for just £800,000.
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The transfer beats the previous record fee of an estimated €100 million (£85 million) that Real Madrid paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale in 2013.
The Gunners are yet to make any particularly high-profile buys this summer, with Granit Xhaka the only established name to come in alongside relatively unknown youngsters Rob Holding and Takuma Asano.
You don’t hire José Mourinho, give him last year’s talented-on-paper young squad, and then give him money to bring in the likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan unless you’re gearing up to fight a war.
Pogba helped France reach the final of European Championship 2016 as hosts – where they were beaten by Portugal – but did not always live up to his billing as one of the biggest stars at the tournament. “This is the right club for me to achieve everything I hope to in the game”.
United, who beat Premier League champions Leicester City 2-1 in the Community Shield at Wembley at the weekend, begin the new campaign on Sunday with a trip to Bournemouth. “I just went for a holiday”, Pogba said.
United’s pursuit of Pogba started soon after manager Jose Mourinho was appointed in May, but it wasn’t officially completed until the early hours of Tuesday morning when the 89 million pounds (105 million euros, $116 million) deal was announced.
“But this group of 23 is a great group and I think in this moment-and I told them this-there is a little bit of frustration for the ones that I have not selected”.
A 19 year-old Pogba signed for Italian side Juventus, where he quickly blossomed into one of the most exhilarating talents in world soccer.
“He will be worth it if he plays well”, he said.
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Pogba outlined his desire to repay the huge fee by playing a key role in making United champions of England and, eventually, Europe, while establishing himself as the world’s best player.
