Late last week, an article from France suggested Mino Raiola had opened talks with Juventus about a possible return to Turin for Paul Pogba.
It was all very preliminary, but there were suggestions the Manchester United star could be interested if a move were to materialise.
Fast forward to Tuesday, and Corriere dello Sport take that notion and throw it in the bin fairly quickly.
They make it very clear there will be ‘no return’ for the midfielder, as it’s an ‘impossible operation’ for the summer ahead, meaning that if Pogba is indeed prioritising a return to his former club as his next move, then it will have to wait.
As they say, ‘the will is not enough’, especially when you take into consideration the player’s salary, which will comfortably go beyond the salary cap Juventus are looking to put in place (around €9m/year pre tax).
Not only that, but Manchester United’s asking price of €100m is also out of reach, especially since Ed Woodward and co. ‘aren’t open to counterparts’ being inserted in the deal.
The Premier League club could be interested in Adrien Rabiot, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Sandro, Douglas costa or Merih Demiral, but only the first on that list would currently be interested in a move to Old Trafford.
However, his value isn’t enough to drop Pogba’s price, and Corriere are clear that ‘operation Pogback seems an impossible dream again’.
