English club Manchester United have triggered the one-year extension in Paul Pogba’s contract at old Trafford.
According to the MEN, Manchester United have tied Paul Pogba, 27, to the club until June 2022. The decision is understood to have been made prior to Paul Pogba expressing an interest in joining Real Madrid last week.
Manchester United’s decision is the earliest they have exercised the one-year option in a player’s contract since executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward introduced the plus-one option in 2013.
The French midfielder re-signed for Manchester United in 2016 for the then-world record fee of £89million but said it is his ‘dream’ to move to Real Madrid, who reappointed fellow French international Zinedine Zidane as coach in March 2019.
Pogba’s stay at old Trafford depends on United agreeing an entirely new contract with Pogba between now and the end of the season they will come under pressure to sell the Frenchman next summer as he will have just a year left on his deal.
Manchester united boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said at his press conference on Friday morning: “Paul’s our player. He’s going to be here for another two years and I’m sure Paul is focused on doing his best for us and we want to see the best of Paul.
“I’m sure in the next couple of years we’ll get the best out of him.”
Paul Pogba said last summer ‘it could be a good time to have a new challenge somewhere else’ and his agent, Mino Raiola, told La Repubblica in January he ‘wouldn’t bring anyone there (United) now’.
Raiola revealed in March he wants to move a ‘great player’ to Real Madrid and cited Zidane’s return to Madrid behind Pogba’s interest in leaving United. Solskjaer was angered by Zidane’s flagrant attempt to unsettle Pogba last year.
Zidane lobbied the Real president Florentino Perez to compete with United for Pogba in the summer of 2016 but Perez refused and Pogba rejoined United for a world record £89m.
Pogba’s initial preference was to push for a move to Real but Raiola advised him to return to United on the proviso he would engineer a transfer to Madrid three years later.
