Paul Pogba’s proposed move to Real Madrid has hit a stumbling block – report
Paul Pogba will have to take a pay cut if he wants to join Real Madrid this summer, report ESPN.
The Manchester United midfielder is keen to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season because he is unconvinced that the Red Devils are in a position to challenge for the biggest trophies.
Zinedine Zidane is a big fan of the France international and wants to bring him to the Bernabeu ahead of next term.
Madrid are not prepared to match his £290,000-a-week United wages, however, so Pogba will need to agree to a reduction if he is to swap the Premier League for La Liga.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that he expects the 26-year-old to be at Old Trafford in 2019/20, despite the midfielder's desire to seek pastures new.
And the news that Pogba would have to accept a pay cut to join Madrid means he could yet remain at the club which paid £89m for his services in 2016.
Los Blancos, who would have to break the £100m barrier to sign the former Juventus man, are aware that their wage bill is already under strain and do not want to make the situation any worse this summer.
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Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).