Why Pogba contract offer threatens to split Man Utd dressing room
Martin Macdonald
- 16 Apr 2022 16:43 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United's plans to make Paul Pogba the highest-paid player in Premier League history could result in a major dressing room split at Old Trafford.
At the moment, the Frenchman is one of a number of very high-profile players, alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, who will be available as a free agent this summer at the expiration of their respective contracts.
Pogba's deal expires in June, and at the moment he is delaying negotiations to see what other options become available.
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At the moment, Man Utd's highest earners as Cristiano Ronaldo (£450k p/w), David de Gea (£375k p/w), Jadon Sancho(£300k p/w), Raphael Varane(£300k p/w) Bruno Fernandes (£250k p/w), and Harry Maguire(£200k p/w).
According to the Mirror, Pogba's offer on the table is worth up to £500k p/w which would make him English football's highest paid player ever.
There are several Man Utd stars, some of which in the list above, that have taken umbrage to the plans to offer Pogba so much money due to his poor injury record, his lack of consistency in performances, and the fact he has openly discussed leaving the club in the past.
Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus are three of the clubs linked with a summer swoop, but the longer he delays his decision, the fear grows among some players at Man Utd that he may accept the big-money deal to stay.
However, the last say on the player will come down to the opinion of expected new manager, Erik ten Hag.
How has Pogba performed at Man Utd?
In the summer of 2016, the Red Devils broke the world transfer record to bring the Frenchman back to Old Trafford from Juventus for £87 million (€105m) after he previously featured for the club at youth level.
The transfer was meant to be a transformative one for United, who were looking to reclaim their status as an elite team on the pitch - a status that had eluded them since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Though Pogba has displayed occasional moments of brilliance and has sometimes been targeted as a scapegoat for the club's failures, the entire transfer has been underwhelming.
Certainly the most disappointing aspect of Pogba's tenure at Man Utd has been his injury record.
In six seasons with the club, he has completed 30 or more Premier League starts in just one year in 2018/19.
In the current campaign, he has just 15 league starts to his name.
