Manchester United resigned to losing Paul Pogba on a free transfer

English Premier League side Manchester United has accepted that star midfielder and club-record signing Paul Pogba will leave the club on a free transfer at the end of the current season. The World Cup-winning star’s deal with the Red Devils ends next year, which will allow him to leave for no fee. 

As per reports, the United hierarchy has made multiple attempts to re-sign the Frenchman but to no avail. The English side is reportedly making new plans to replace him in next summer’s transfer window. 

United can sell Pogba in the January transfer window, but the Glazers, United’s American owners, are not keen on doing that. 

“Although the club could raise a fee for Pogba by offloading him in the January transfer window, sources have said that United’s owners, the Glazer family, are relaxed about the possibility of missing out on a transfer fee, having decided that the benefits of having the player available for the final six months of the season outweigh the potential financial boost of moving him on in January.

“United have made repeated efforts to persuade Pogba to sign a new contract, but senior figures have believed since the end of the last season that it was unlikely that he would commit to new terms, with plans already being made to strengthen the midfield without him next summer,” said the report. 

The report has claimed that the likes of European giants Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Pogba’s former club Juventus, are interested in signing him. But, the three clubs are not keen on trying to prise him away from Old Trafford in January. The report further claims that United was aware that the Frenchman could leave the club on a free transfer when they signed him in 2016. 

The Red Devils paid a club-record fee of £89 million to sign Pogba from Juventus in the summer of 2016. The midfielder, who came through the ranks at United, left the club in 2012 after being unhappy at the lack of first-team opportunities. 

He made a name for himself at Juve, helping the club to four back-to-back Serie A titles. His move to Manchester United was supposed to help revive the club’s fortunes and lead them to a league title, but he has been able to win just two trophies since his return to the club – the EFL Cup and Europa League, both coming in the 2016-17 season. 

The Frenchman will miss United’s three Premier League games against Tottenham, Manchester City, and Watford following a red card against Liverpool.