How Paul Pogba almost joined Barcelona ahead of Manchester United move
– Barcelona could have snatched Paul Pogba from the clutches of Manchester United
– The Catalans had an agreement in place last summer to sign Pogba from Juve in 2016
– Pogba moved to Manchester United for a world transfer record fee this summer
Barcelona claim they passed up their first option to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus this summer thus allowing them to sign other targets.
Pogba joined Manchester United for a world transfer record fee this summer.
Paul Pogba joined United after the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid decided not to sign him
The Nou Camp club were understood to have agreed a deal 12 months ago that would give them priority should they wish to sign the 22-year-old for £85million.
According to the Mirror UK, the Catalans informed Juventus in February that they wouldn’t be exercising their option.
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Albert Soler, the club’s director of sporting relations said: “Last year we reached a deal with Juventus for us to have a priority option when they sold Pogba.
“This summer we decided that there were players that suited us better on a sporting level.
“The idea of the board was that nobody would be able to get ahead of us in the market. It allowed us to have options.”
Barca eventually signed Valencia midfielder Andre Gomes, a player of the same age as Pogba but one who is considered more suited to Barca’s style of play.
Andre Gomes
The reigning La Liga and Copa Del Rey champions also signed the likes of Paco Alcacer, Denis Suarez, Lucas Digne and Samuel Umtiti.
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