Paul Pogba remains a rather bizarre figure.
The Manchester United midfielder is quite clearly an obnoxiously talented footballer, perhaps one of the very best in his position in the world.
He has the trophies to prove it, too.
Pogba is a World Cup winner, he has a Premier League winner’s medal, has won Serie A four times, the Europa League once, the League Cup twice, and the Italian Cup twice.
And yet he has struggled to truly leave his mark on the pitch at times.
This season, for example, he has played the 90 minutes once in the Premier League, against Tottenham Hotspur. United lost 6-1.
He is a divisive figure, seen by some as elite, and others as something of a luxury talent.
United have triggered an option to extend his contract, nevertheless, meaning he will stay at the club until 2022, but talks are continuing over a proper new deal for the star, per ESPN.
Nevertheless, they report that there is no intention to hand him a huge pay rise in order to convince him to remain at Old Trafford.
Having shifted Alexis Sanchez and his £400,000-per-week wages, United have ruled out the prospect of Pogba having a similar style of contract, although he can expect a small bump on his £270,000-per-week wages.
Ed Woodward, though, is said to be relaxed over Pogba’s future and is fine about the prospect of his deal running into its final year.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
Well, these figures are eye-watering.
The idea of United handing him a pay rise from £270,000 is nuts in the extreme, whether it’s a small bump or a big one.
He hasn’t really justified that prospect at all.
Last season, he scored one goal in 16 league games, and laid on just four assists.
Injuries did plague his campaign but even in 2018/19, when he scored 13 league goals, he ended the campaign with two goals in 10 games.
The form has not been good enough and the idea of tying him down shouldn’t be a priority for United.
In fact, they might even be better cashing in. He is valued at £72m by Transfermarkt; that’d be a nice chunk of change for United to receive, especially given that he’s continually flirted with a move to Real Madrid.
Let him go, don’t keep him around.