Barcelona claim they turned down chance to sign Pogba

Barcelona have said they passed up the opportunity to sign Paul Pogba, despite having first option on the player.

The French midfielder has since signed for Manchester United, in a world-record £89million move.

Barca claim they agreed a deal with Juventus last year, which gave them priority should they wish to sign the player £85million.

The club’s director of sporting relations, Albert Soler, explained: “Last year we reached a deal with Juventus for us to have a priority option when they sold Pogba.

“This summer we decided that there were players that suited us better on a sporting level.

“The idea of the board was that nobody would be able to get ahead of us in the market.

“It allowed us to have options.”

The La Liga champions instead signed Andre Gomes from Valencia.

#barcelona #pogba