Barcelona tried to sign Pogba in 2015, says president Bartomeu
Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has revealed to ESPN that the club tried to sign Real Madrid target Pogba before he joined Manchester United in 2016.
Paul Pogba has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer. The Manchester United midfielder is reportedly one of the main targets for Los Blancos coach Zinedine Zidane, who has had his eyes on the France international since 2016 when he first tried to sign him.
Zidane has made no secret of his admiration for his compatriot and fellow World Cup winner Pogba and has openly indicated that the former Juventus star would be welcomed with open arms at the Bernabéu.
“I like Pogba a lot, it’s nothing new. I know him personally. He’s a different kind of player, he brings so much and there are few players who bring as much as he does,” said Zidane in a press conference nine days ago. “If when he finishes his experience at United he wants to come here why shouldn’t he come to Real Madrid.”
By his part, Pogba himself has spoken of this admiration for Zidane and Real Madrid, prompting speculation he could leave Manchester United by describing Real Madrid as a "dream".
"Like I've always said, Real Madrid is a dream for anyone," he told reporters on 20 March. "It's one of the biggest clubs in the world. There is also Zidane as a coach and it's a dream for anybody who likes football. For now, I'm at Manchester. We don't know what the future holds. I'm at Manchester and I'm happy."
But amidst the intensified talk linking Real Madrid with Pogba, Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has revealed that the French man could have joined El Blaugrana before he ended up signing for Manchester United in 2016.
Barcelona were outbid by Manchester United for Pogba
"In the summer of 2015, Paul Pogba was playing in Turin and we simply told Juve that, if one day they decide to sell the player, we would be interested,” recalled Bartomeu in an interview with ESPN.
"When they sold the player, they told us what the offer would have to be and we couldn't afford that amount of money at the time. So he went to United, and he's making them better as a team because he's one of the stars of the world of football right now."
Pogba signed for Manchester United for a record fee of 110 million euros in the summer of 2016 and has been an instrumental player for managers José Mourinho (despite the pair having a tense relationship towards the end of the Portuguese coach’s tenure) and now Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, who has been credited for getting the best out of the Frenchman since he took charge in December.
On signing the French midfielder in 2016, Jose Mourinho said that he wanted Pogba “to be at the heart of this club for the next decade and beyond”. However, if Zidane and Real Madrid get their way, Pogba’s time at Old Trafford could come to end – for the second time – after just three years.