Manchester United chief Ed Woodward believes preventing Paul Pogba joining Real Madrid is essential to his financial plans for the club, according to a report. The midfielder has spoken about seeking a new challenge in the summer but Woodward is willing to increase the player’s wages to keep him at Old Trafford.
According to Goal, Woodward would be willing to commit to Pogba the kind of salary that might persuade him to stay in Manchester.
Pogba is one of the most expensive players in football and unsurprisingly he commands one of the largest wages at United, with his basic salary reportedly at £290,000-a-week.
The Frenchman began his career at United but a lack of first-team minutes saw him leave Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and join Juventus in 2012.
However, after winning four Series A titles and several domestic trophies, he returned to Manchester in the summer of 2016 when United paid Juve £89million.
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Goalkeeper David de Gea is currently United’s top earner after he signed a new deal this season.
The Spaniard signed a new six-year contract earning him a mammoth £375,000-a-week, which will earn him £19.5m a year.
Pogba’s current deal earns him just over £15m a year, so it would be a costly increase if Woodward offered to match De Gea’s contact.
The Frenchman has been limited to only six appearances for United this season due to injury.
A January move for Pogba from Real is unlikely as the club still need to raise £84m to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.
And while Pogba is still very much part of United’s squad despite being sidelined from injury, the report claims Solskjaer wouldn’t prevent a summer exit if Woodward allowed him to reinvest the money into his squad.
After Pogba made his comment about seeking a new challenge in the summer, his agent, Mino Raiola, also claimed the player wanted to leave.
And while United are not at all considering selling the player in the January window the report claims Solskjaer wouldn’t prevent Pogba leaving in the summer if he made it clear he wanted to leave.