Barcelona’s sporting director Albert Soler has claimed that the club had an agreement to sign Paul Pogba before pulling out due to the fee being demanded.
Soler revealed that there was an agreement in place between themselves and Juventus due to the two clubs enjoying a strong relationship, that if the 23-year-old became available then they would have the first option to purchase his signature.
However, the French midfielder re-joined Manchester United for £89million last month and Soler believes that increased prices will just make it more difficult to sign the world’s best players.
Speaking at a press conference the 50-year-old said, “Last year we reached an agreement with Juventus: if they wanted to sell Pogba we would have a priority.”
“That was the commitment that we had. Juve did not want to sell the player and we didn’t have the need to sign him.
“Barcelona has always had a great relationship with Juventus. If we would have wanted to do the deal, nobody could advance us.
“We signed six players with €120million. If one club can pay €120m for one player [it] will be very difficult to sign great players.”
Barcelona improved the depth of their squad over this summer by signing Andre Gomes, Denis Suarez, Lucas Digne, Samuel Umtiti, Jasper Cillessen and Paco Alcacer for around £105million but with Andres Iniesta 32 years old, the talented Pogba would’ve been a fantastic addition for now and the future.
The 23-year-old opted for a second stint at Old Trafford and rejoins the club that sold him for £800,000 under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Last season Pogba firmly established himself as one of the most sought after players in the world as he scored eight goals and assisted a further 12, helping Juventus on the way to lifting the Serie A title.
COMMENTS