Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has emerged as a Real Madrid transfer target for the summer of 2021 according to AS. Rennes’ Eduardo Camavinga, another option, is seeing his value rise quickly, whereas Pogba’s is in line to decline.
Pogba was a key part of the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup and has never been shy about his interest in one day playing at the Santiago Bernabéu for Los Blancos – he recently described it as “a dream”.
United are currently 15th in the Premier League table and Pogba started as a substitute in their 3-1 defeat of Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon. After this season, he’ll have just one year left to run on his contract – Calciomercato claim that “there is an agreement to release him for €60m in 2021.”
This contrasts with Camavinga’s situation. His value is rising fast with several top European clubs – including Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus – throwing admiring glances his way. There is a decade between the two, with Camavinga 17 and Pogba 27, and the sentiment from the Spanish capital seems to be that Pogba brings guaranteed quality as opposed to vaunted potential.
Madrid’s policy in the past few years has seen them sign promising youngsters ahead of established stars, but president Florentino Pérez is said to be mindful of the commercial weight that Pogba carries – he’s one of the few players in the current market considered an icon in Asia and the United States.
According to last year’s Forbes list, Pogba is fourth in the list of footballers who earn the most money from advertising in the world after Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar. He signed a ten year deal with Adidas worth €40m in 2016, and only takes part in other advertising deals on a sporadic basis – something that aligns neatly with Pérez’s strategy.
Featured image courtesy of The Telegraph.
