Italian newspaper Tuttosport managed today an interview with Javier Ribalta, who used to be an important man at Juventus.
The Spaniard was the club’s chief scout between 2012 and 2017, and is described by the outlet as Fabio Paratici’s former right hand at the Old Lady.
Ribalta left the Serie A side in 2017 to take the chief scout position at Manchester United, where he stayed for a year, having accepted a job as sporting director at Zenit in the summer of 2018.
His experience in Russian football is the main reason why Tuttosport interviewed him, since Juventus played Lokomotiv Moscow today. But of course, the chat had some snippets about transfers as well.
With Juventus claiming they want to sign a ‘new Ronaldo’ for the club next year, they’ve asked him about the chances of landing the likes of Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappé, João Félix or Erling Håland. And it turns out the director had something to say about the Manchester United star.
“None of the four looks simple to me, but I would bet a pizza with a friend on Pogba’s return. Without Champions, Paul is destined to leave Manchester United.”
