Barcelona director Ariedo Braida says Barcelona were priced out of making a serious bid for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, who looks to be on the brink of a move to Manchester United.
Pogba, who made his senior debut with United in 2011, is widely reported to be closing in on a return to Old Trafford, with a world-record fee in the region of €120million thought to be heading into the Serie A champions’ coffers.
Real Madrid have also been linked with the France international and, while Braida concedes Barca had initially been interested in bringing Pogba to Camp Nou, he insisted the club could not justify the expenditure.
“Clearly when you talk about figures that go over €100million, you need to reflect on them,” Braida is quoted as telling Canale 21.
“It all comes down to the TV rights that brought in a lot of money and completely changed the logic of the transfer market. Clearly all players are overrated to some degree or another at this stage.
“We know Pogba, he is a player who proved to be very strong and, for a while, Barcelona were interested, but clearly the dynamics changed and once the figures reached a certain point, we were no longer interested.
“It’s hard to keep up at some stage, because you don’t only have to consider the price of the transfer fee, but also the player’s salary. Over the course of five years, that can amount to tens of millions.”
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