Manchester United expect Paul Pogba to stay at the club this summer.
The 26-year France international, who asked to leave last summer amid interest from Barcelona, has two years to run on his current contract, with the club holding an option to extend by a further year.
In what is seen as a pre-meditated move to force United’s hand, Pogba on Sunday publicly confirmed his desire to leave the club, saying “it could be a good time to have a new challenge somewhere else”.
It is understood there have been concerns at Old Trafford about his behaviour and the influence he has on the younger players in the squad.
Real Madrid and Juventus are interested in signing the World Cup winner, who United value at £150m.
Real, who have already spent over £250m on five arrivals this summer, have concerns about breaching UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, but if they really want him it is thought they will find a solution.
Meanwhile, Juventus’ sporting director Fabio Paratici travelled to United’s London offices last week to hold talks over bringing Pogba back to Turin, three years after he left for the Premier League club for a then world-record £93.25m fee.
Pogba is one of three midfielders on Juventus’ shortlist of midfield targets – along with Adrien Rabiot and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – but the Italian champions will not match United’s valuation of the player.
