Unfortunately United are not in a "take it or leave it" position. When we were champions, and Fergie had the likes of Ronaldo, Beckham, Giggs, and Scholes, players would need their heads examining if they were not keen to join us. There was an arrogance and a swagger about us going into the market. Nowadays I am afraid there is a whiff of desperation. 5th and out of the CL and desperately trying to climb up the table with better players. Why would Pogba return to United? he didn't have such a great history with us. Was not appreciated by the ex manager who is still around as director. He left with some bad blood. There is no CL which every top club could dangle in front of him. Yes, the only way he could return would be to make an offer so big to him and to his club that neither could refuse. In that context I could see why £100m is being paid to Juventus. I can see why Juventus was hanging on to him and didn't want to sell. If at 23 years they were being offered £100m, why wouldn't get near that amount or more when he's 25-26? It is a bit (not exactly similar) like Martial. The selling club was desperate to hang on to him as he was so young. They felt there was no way his price will go down. It could only go up. That's why they inserted all sorts of bonuses and extra payments for milestones (just like they are doing for Pogba).
We've actually never been able to directly compete with the two Spanish giants until now if you think about it, and largely due to our fiscal responsibility - they took Ronaldo from us in his prime and we had just reached Champions League finals 2 out of his last 3 years. That power struggle has always been there and most continental players would always prefer Real/Barca due to so many factors. However, in the grand scheme of things, United is still United and we are still prime players in the market, even without Champions League. Real, however, was always the cream for players (mind you, I think most of them are misinformed because it usually ends up not working out for them). So I don't think we are desperate to get Pogba. Yes, we have created that perception but with our current squad and players that are available in the market, we should not be acting desperate. Most players would jump at an opportunity to play for us above any other club.
Bearing in mind this same agent got a slice from the Zlatan and Miki deals as well - how much more does he want from us.
I mean, there comes a point where you start doing the right thing. But it seems every action and reaction in football is now judged solely by how much you stand to make. Like I've said before, if Pogba really wants to come to United, he should tell this fat turd to shut it and make the deal happen. It's disgraceful that Agent's insane fee might determine a player's future.
I can only imagine that the 'delay' is in fact a stalling tactic by the agent to maximise the transfer fee proper (rather than build it up with add-ons) so as to inflate his percentage. If you believe some of the tripe in the papers we have already agreed personal terms with the player and I wouldn't be surprised if Juve have accepted the sale but the agent is promising them a higher fee if they wait. I just have a feeling that Jose isn't the sort of guy who will allow himself/the club to be sucked into a protracted deal. If this doesn't happen soon I suspect JM will go for another option.
Hey, if Lukaku is worth £75m, then surely Pogba must be worth £100m http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ing-75million-valuation-former-Blues-ace.html
True. Paul has better opportunity with Jose & you than at Real. Having said that - I wish Paul still goes to Real. If Jose gets Paul - then there is no need for 38 rounds of footy - you mighty crown Jose champ already.
First name terms now is it? Didn't know you knew him. You'll be going down the Guardian route and insisting he's now called Paul Labile next.
United: Johnstone (Romero 46), Valencia (Pereira 75), Bailly, Jones (Rojo 46), Shaw, Blind (McNair 66), Herrera, Mata, Mkhitaryan (Januzaj 66), Lingard (Young 46), Memphis (Rashford 46). Subs not used: Tuanzebe, Keane. -------------------------------------- Very weak squad, I think. I only see 4-5 five players that will be playing the first match of the season. Still, a loss is a loss and this was a pretty big one.
4-5? I'd say only Micky, Shaw and probably Bailly will feature in the first match of the season. The match seemed to be more about Mourinho testing the fringe players in the squad and seeing if they have any claim to feature in his future plans. Bailly, Blind, Micky, Herrera and Rashford did good jobs, Mata, Lingaard and Januzaj showed some good play but not enough to put themselves in contention for the matchday squad imo. But Depay, Rojo and Valencia have probably played themselves out the door.
News here says Pogba has agreed personal terms and have accepted JMs offer of 100 M. Franked by juve removing him off their Twitter banner. Two questions, are you happy with this and do you think it's too much money?
How can anyone not be happy if we have Pogba. I believed we could've worked harder to find a box to box CM for cheaper. Also believed we could've managed ok if we hadn't bought Pogba or anyone else for mf. But now (if) we've bought him, how can any United fan not be happy to have him.
1. Yes, I think he's better than what we currently have in CM and, perhaps more importantly, is different from what we currently have. Mourinho relies on having tactical flexibility in different games, and I think Pogba adds to this. We have the cash in the bank and can afford his wages, so as Treble says there is no real downside to the signing. 2. Depends on your view. On the one hand, Pogba is not a good enough to justify being the world's most expensive player, although he has the potential to be. On the other hand, based on transfer spending inflation and football revenue growth over the past seven years, the Ronaldo transfer equates to over £150 million in today's market. Pogba is the equivalent of Denilson, Vieri and Crespo being the record transfers in the late 90s - none of them were near to being the best in the world, but the money was there so the fees went up based on the fact they were available for sale. Also if Sterling is 'worth' £49m, Morata is 'worth' £62m and Lukaku is 'worth' £65m then it's hard to argue Pogba isn't 'worth' close to £100m. Imo we are paying more than he is worth in terms of impact on the team, but that's the price of consistent success in the modern game. Also if he's the signing who takes us from competing for 2nd place next season to challenging for and winning the title, both next season and in the future, then it's hard to argue he won't be worth it.
