Juventus had offered a great trade for Paul Pogba

Manchester United turned down the opportunity to complete a highly successful trade deal with Juventus for Paul Pogba.

The elimination of Manchester United from the group stage of the Champions League could be the biggest problem surrounding the club at the moment. But Mino Raiola’s comments on Paul Pogba’s future at Old Trafford are not far behind.

For a few years it seems that the Frenchman wants to leave the club and his agent has not kept it a secret either, speaking publicly on multiple occasions. The Red Devils have managed to keep the midfielder despite this, but with his contract exhausted, that could be about to change very soon.

It would make sense for United to let him go next summer to get a transfer fee for the move. Otherwise, the Frenchman could leave for free the following summer when his contract ends.

However, Raiola’s comments proved to be a major distraction before the game against RB Leipzig and many fans would probably have hoped that the club had already let him go. And it looks like he had a chance to make a deal.

As reported by the Express, Fabrizio Romano revealed on his Podcast Here We Go, that Juventus had offered the Red Devils Miralem Pjanic and Douglas Costa in a highly successful trade for Pogba, but was turned down:

“Juventus offered Pjanic and Douglas Costa to Manchester United for Paul Pogba to start talks, Manchester United turned it down.

“Juventus is in the race to sign Pogba. Juve will try again with a trade deal if that doesn’t work out, Juve will have to sell major players first to fund Pogba’s deal.

“If Juve doesn’t sell any players or the trades don’t work, they just can’t get Pogba.

“It is difficult to sign Pogba in January, Juventus will have to sell players and Manchester United will want the full sale price.

“You only have a four-week window, not a three-month window like summer.”

To be very honest, United probably did the right thing by not taking the deal. Both Pjanic and Costa are great players in their day, but they are in their 30s. As a result, they are not incredibly valuable in the transfer market. Or that we had thought before FC Barcelona decided to sign the Bosnian for an incredible 60 million euros.

However, there is hope that United can get a good deal for Pogba with clubs such as Juventus, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona reportedly interested in acquiring his services.

However, now there is a big problem for the Red Devils. Raiola’s comments practically confirmed that Pogba will eventually leave the club and has no interest in extending his contract. In that case, United does not have much influence in negotiating a deal for the midfielder as anyone who wants it will know that he can leave for free the following summer.

So it will be interesting to see where Pogba ends up. Don’t be surprised if a trade trade actually ends up happening this time.