One of the summer’s biggest transfer story seems to be coming to an end finally, according to ESPN FC. Paul Pogba, the young midfield who plays for the Italian super club Juventus and leader of the French national team, has been rumored to leave the Italian giants this summer for either Real Madrid or Manchester United, both super clubs in their respective countries, and it looks like Manchester will win this race.
Reports have been saying for weeks that the money in this deal had been decided on, it was more about which team was going to pay the agent’s fee to complete the deal. Pogba will reportedly move for a world record transfer fee of $125 million, which eclipses the previous record, when Gareth Bale moved to Real Madrid, by just under $15 million.
Paul Pogba will have a medical to join Man Utd with finances agreed, an ESPN FC source says. https://t.co/3W54Cy9bdg pic.twitter.com/ak4Q53woRw
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 29, 2016
For some context, this deal is like if the New York Yankees signed Bryce Harper. Pogba is in his prime, he’s only 23, and every big club wants his services. Manchester United have struggled for the past few seasons, after the departure of their Gregg Popovich-esque coach, Sir Alex Ferguson, and they’ve made a statement this summer by hiring the controversial Jose Mourhino, and giving him a seemingly bottomless bag of money to remake the team.
Manchester had dragged their feet on this deal because they did not want to pay the agent’s fee, a separate $26 million. There is also a slight irony to this story because it was in fact Manchester United that discovered Pogba, but they didn’t think he would reach his full potential, so they sold him for $800,000 to Juventus. Juventus will make quite a profit of this global star that they stole for less than a million dollars, and Manchester United will hope that Pogba is the missing piece they need for a title run.
