Manchester United have reportedly rejected a player plus cash offer for Paul Pogba from Real Madrid that would have seen James Rodriguez move to Old Trafford.
As per a report from The Times, Real Madrid made an offer of £27.4 million plus Colombian international James Rodriguez in order to secure the signing of World Cup winning midfielder Paul Pogba, but have been rebuffed by Manchester United.
Pogba’s future has been a subject of intense transfer speculation all summer after the midfielder claimed that he was looking for a new challenge in his career. His agent, Mino Raiola, also strongly hinted at the possibility of an exit from Old Trafford with Real Madrid mooted as the most likely destination for the Frenchman.
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is admittedly a huge admirer of the Manchester United star and is believed to be keen on securing his signature in order to boost his options in the middle of the park. However, there had been little movement on that front in recent weeks, but the Merengues finally have acted on their interest in Pogba.
According to the report from The Times, Real Madrid offered Manchester United a derisory £27.4 million and were willing to allow James Rodriguez, who is not a part of Zidane’s plans, move the other way as part of the deal. However, Los Blancos’ offer was nowhere near close to Manchester United’s £150 million valuation of the 26-year-old.
Manchester United have maintained all summer that Pogba is not for sale, with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer building his side around the World Cup winner. The midfielder himself was a model professional during the Red Devils’ pre-season tour despite his wishes to leave and put on a string of impressive displays.
However, speculations had intensified after Pogba did not travel to Cardiff this past weekend for Manchester United’s final pre-season friendly against AC Milan. But, Solskjaer was insistent that the French international would remain a part of his squad for the 2019-20 campaign.
Given that Real Madrid have spent heavily this summer and the fact that they haven’t been able to offload unwanted players such as James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale has meant that they have some financial constraints. So, it is unlikely that they will return with an improved offer for Pogba.
Even if Real Madrid do come back with a bigger bid for the French superstar, Manchester United are likely to reject it again as they have very little time to bring in a replacement, with the English transfer window set to close in a couple of days.
As far as Real Madrid are concerned, they seem to have already conceded defeat in their pursuit of Pogba. Instead, the La Liga giants are looking to bring in Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek as an alternative for the World Cup winner.
