Real Madrid can't afford what we can so that could be irrelevant. Not sure he improves us as much as you all think. Real can sell us Kroos & Varane, who would, and have Pogba in my opinion. We could also get Kante or Matuidi and still not have spent as much.
Priority is can he sell enough shirts. The answer is no. The rest is immaterial and it's time to look at Lee Cattermole.
But they won't would they? The point is that once United engage in a battle with the likes of madrid and Barcelona to get a player, it cannot afford to lose without a fight. Of course these other teams have the advantage of having CL football. It is almost another competition in its own right between the top clubs. Who can get the most expensive players? One of the most disastrous mistakes United (or Fergie) made apart from letting Pogba go, was the selling Beckham to Real madrid. At the time, when it was announced, I thought what a stupid thing to do. Selling the most glamorous player in the world to your nearest rival (globally) and for a pittance at £25m. Real recouped more than that in shirt sales alone ! never mind the huge extra following they got from having him playing for them. I think United have learnt from that.
He is only 23. I don't think Champions League should be his sole motive. Missing one season would have zero impact on his career. I really don't buy that argument. If we are a club that would never get a chance to qualify, then I would think differently. We had a horrible season last year yet we still only missed out on Champions league on goal difference. As for his choice, I honestly wouldn't be pissed if he joined RM for 100m. A part of me would hate for us to spend that kind of silly money even though I wouldn't complain given the money would have gone to the Glazers anyway. So why not spend it on a player, I guess.
Hey. I was confident that sooner or later some of our fans will come round to my way of thinking Getting him will give us a great boost. Many people will say (not me) that the boost cannot be worth £100m. As its not our money why should we be bothered?
What's changed from few weeks ago, Christian? He was worth 65, then 70 and now we are talking £120m. The logic is absurd! I would rather have a club that is well managed from all perspectives. It is why I don't support Real Madrid. I loathe their business model which is all make believe B-S. Madrid is a broke club, yet they continue to spend. Barca ain't that rich either. Yet we have the likes of Bayern who still compete at the highest level. Look at Juve, they compete too. So why throw money around just to be in league of high spenders without logic? I don't think that is something I would ever bring myself to fully support. It is irresponsible in my world to pay £120m for a player that was let go for free 4 years ago and valued at £65m 2 months ago.
That's the whole point. There is NO logic or rationality in any of this. When 2 art collectors desperately want one painting it will go for much more than the anticipated price. £1m instead of £100k. Pride, loss of face , not wanting the other guy to have it and many other reasons. And when the new owner gets in financial difficulty, he'll sell at £80k!! You cannot blame Juventus for increasing the price regularly (from 65m to £120m but its all speculation!) and trying to get the highest price. They say they want to keep him. So they can set their price. The reality is that if Pogba is the best in his position then you cannot replace him. What did United do with the £80m they got from Ronaldo, Spurs with their Bale millions or the RS with the money they got from the Rat? The RS as the perennial deluded fools spent the money on utter crap amd went backwards. United only maintained their supremacy through the manager's genius.
Art collectors, Christian! Yes, we have the money now. But we also have a club to run. If we spend all the money now, we have no idea what the future holds. Look outside of football and you will see that the future is slightly blink. Brexit, bloated markets etc. We need to make sure that we are not paying 100% more than original asking price. Yeah, 20% more if bidding war starts. Art collectors are not accountable. Who spends £170m on piece of art? You think that person cares about the fricken art itself? You think they would spend that much on it if the news never covers their purchase? I don't blame Juve at all. Same way that I didn't blame Spurs for Bale. If a sucker is willing to pay the price, why would you not push it up? I blame the foolish buyer though. And like you said, a great manager doesn't need stupid money to make a club great. That's the kind of club I have always supported.
It is all about the means to an end. I've watched and supported United through success and failure, through flair and mediocrity. I know which ones I'd prefer to watch and support (glory hunter eh!). Jose wants to get Pogba to improve the midfield and to get the best team able to win the title or at least get into the CL The GGs want to help Jose by get the best team and players to at least get into the CL and improve their profits. Getting the best players also improve the marketing and sponsorship deals by hundreds of millions as businesses and corporations clamour to be associated with United. Me, I just sit back and enjoy it as the GGs' desperation to maintain United's global status and profits coincides with the on pitch ability to compete.
The only problem is that we have spent over £250m in the past three years and what exactly have we got to show for it? We already have a great squad as it is. Forget Champions League, play each player to their strength and will be competing for the title. Throwing money around does not always translate to success. This is more about ego play than value for money.
Lets be fair, LvG would have made Messi look like a donkey. I think we will all be pleasantly surprised at just how many of our existing squad suddenly turn into great plaayers - for the last three seasons they have had Moyes then LvG hold them back.
You need a manager who can spend these huge sums and still build a team. Not as easy as it seems. Moyes and LVG seem to just wait to see which top players are available and get them. LVg was even worse. He seemed to get rid of good players who could still do a job and struggle to buy the players he wants and when injuries strike, not being able to field a decent side. How many times have we heard "He spent so much that even a donkey would have won the title." No. Buying the title is not as easy as it seems now that leicester have won it with relatively little and others are spending big on good players.
If we firmly believe that we had management problem rather than squad issue, then why are we desperate to sell players that we know could perform much better? Madrid, the number one team that spends foolishly like this has not won their league in years. Yes, they've won the Champions League, but I believe that they are more desperate to be the best in Spain than in Europe.
Which further backs up that we don't need to spend a hundred million on Pogba, right? I find it odd his value has soared while having a quiet Euro's. He's not exactly excelled. Be good to get Sunday out of the way and see what actually pans out. I wouldn't be phased at all if we didn't get him, I still harbour exasperation that he spat his dummy and wouldn't wait for his chance with United, which would have come eventually. Nah, if we don't get him and get Matuidi instead for instance we'll live, no problem.
Since his name cropped up, last night was the first chance I've had to watch a game and really focus on Matuidi and I actually think he had a much better game than Pogba and was more influential in France's midfield too. He was everywhere, passing well, hard-tackling and very good in the air. If we ended up signing him rather than Pogba I wouldn't be at all disappointed................plus we would be about 65mill better off.
