Spanish Giants To Go Head To Head For Premier League Superstar This Summer

May 15, 2019 at 1:00 am GMT+1

Paul Pogba’s Manchester United future has been the topic of speculation for some time now. While Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he believes the Frenchman will stay at Old Trafford in the summer, failure to qualify for the Champions League next season could cast that into doubt, with both Real Madrid and Barcelona watching on intently.

It was originally thought that Pogba, who rejoined United from Juventus in 2016 for a then world record fee of £89million, would stay after the departure of Jose Mourinho in December. The pair didn’t get on and were on a collision course before the manager was sacked and replaced by Solskjaer. Despite a very good season in terms of goals and assists, scoring 13 and creating 9 in the Premier League alone, he hasn’t proved overwhelmingly popular with fans for his perceived attitude and off field antics, such as changing hairstyles and general social media activity.

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Barça want to replace Ivan Rakitic with Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba this summer. [tuttosport] pic.twitter.com/MJnKaDPERx
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 14, 2019

Paul Pogba for Manchester United:

✅⚽ Top goalscorer
✅🎯 Top assister

He plays centre-midfield and the fans still give him abuse.

Rashford and Lingard get away with so much. pic.twitter.com/x0jhrrqNVq
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) May 12, 2019

A video of Pogba confronting a fan after the full time whistle against Cardiff on Sunday could serve as the final nail in the coffin. Real Madrid are known admirers of the World Cup winner, and are even reported to be making moves on a deal which could include Gareth Bale heading out of the Santiago Bernabéu this summer.

The presence of Zinedine Zidane could also be a crucial factor, and despite beginning his career at United and then returning, Pogba may see his future in Spain.

There are more suggestions that Barcelona could join the race for his signature, with Ivan Rakitic’s future up for debate at Camp Nou. Solskjaer may be desperate to retain Pogba, but with major surgery needed within his squad, it could be that it starts with a big sale. In terms of incomings, Jadon Sancho is expected to be their number one target from Borussia Dortmund, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka of Crystal Palace has been heavily linked, too.

Others, including Benfica’s Joao Felix and Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly are also wanted in Manchester. It looks set to be an interesting summer.