Why Paul Pogba to Real Madrid Risks Being an 'Impossible Dream'
Paul Pogba may have to go on waiting if his ambition is to join Real Madrid from Manchester United because his ‘dream’ – his own word – move to the Bernabeu has now been labelled an ‘impossible’ one by a particularly interesting report in Spain.
Pogba’s future at United appeared to finally be gearing towards the long-term at the end of last season after he made an impressive return to action during ‘Project Restart’ and the team finished strongly to grab third place in the Premier League and return to the Champions League.
But a poor start to 2020/21, which has again seen Pogba struggle with fitness after missing key pre-season preparations when he tested positive for coronavirus, has resulted in agent Mino Raiola declaring that the 2018 World Cup winner is ‘unhappy’ and ‘needs to change team’.
Raiola effectively threatened United that Pogba will leave for free in 2022 if they refuse to sell because he said his client will not be signing a new contract at Old Trafford.
Although Pogba has been heavily linked with a United exit before, most notably in the summer of 2019, his continued stay at the club has never seemed more untenable than it is right now.
The issue for him is whether any club has the willingness or resources to take him.
Although capable of being world class, Pogba’s inconsistent form makes it unlikely there will be a long list of suitors queuing up to sign him, especially with the potential figures involved.
He is already 27, will turn 28 in March, and should be at his peak. If this is as good as it gets for Pogba, it could be a gamble that isn’t worth taking when the coronavirus crisis has shrunk the transfer market – a number of top clubs were even starting to penny pinch beforehand.
By his own admission on more than one occasion, Pogba’s personal ‘dream’ is to play for Real Madrid at some point in his career. The time for that could be now if he is really serious about getting out of Old Trafford at the end of the season. But only if the interest is reciprocal.
Real coach Zinedine Zidane has wanted a number of French targets for some time and 90min revealed in October that he had repeatedly been asking the club to sign Pogba and fellow France internationals Kylian Mbappe and N’Golo Kante for the past year. The need for Kante has waned, but rapidly emerging French youngster Eduardo Camavinga is on Zidane’s list instead.
The one that Madrid really want is Mbappe and they have the money already set aside for the 21-year-old as long as he is willing to make the switch from Paris Saint-Germain.
But Marca explains that while Zidane has significant influence on decision making, he is the ‘only’ person at the club particularly keen to sign Pogba. There is a suggestion that Madrid couldn’t build a new midfield around Pogba and for him to be a success in the Spanish capital, Los Blancos president Florentino Perez would have to also sanction a move for Kante.
Marca points out that the cost of the transfer fee and annual wages of €19m on top were what killed Real’s desire to chase a deal in the summer of 2019 when Zidane expected it would be done.
Bearing in mind that Zidane appears to be the only one in Madrid who seriously wants it to happen, it is worth remembering a report from September 2019 that explained Real never had the ‘cash or conviction’ to make the transfer a reality the last time this was a possibility – even though United would likely have sold for an offer that comfortably exceeded their initial £89m investment.
The suggestion was that the Real Madrid hierarchy knew Pogba was out of reach then, but the club felt ‘obliged to show an interest’ because he was Zidane’s most coveted transfer target.
That Zidane remains keen but Real again don’t appear to be in a position to want to make it happen could mean that Pogba goes on waiting…and it could be a long wait because there are definitely no guarantees that other top clubs will have the means or desire in this climate either.
For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!