260 million euros? Barcelona lose patience with Juventus and Raiola's Pogba demands
The signing of French midfielder Paul Pogba will cost a lot of money by anyone’s standards. To convince the player and Juventus will take a lot of persuading and, above all, a lot of cash, as Barcelona have found out from their talks with Pogba, his agent, Mino Raiola, and the Old Lady. As of today, the operation is a long way from what the Blaugrana can afford that it’s become a pipe-dream. Raiola ruled out Barcelona as Pogba’s next move on Monday. In quotes to La Rai, said: “If I have to say honestly, no [Pogba won’t move to Barça] because we had already spoke with them and there was no chance of them buying him.”
The explanation is simple. To get Pogba dressed in a Barcelona shirt — or any other club — would cost an estimated 260 million euros. It’s a spectacular investment which has put off various clubs who have been following him. Barça know Juve are not ready to lose their star player unless they receive an offer of 100 million euros. It’s also known that in order for Raiola to push the operation through, he needs a long contract (six years) an 25 million euros annually as the player’s salary. That’s a total of 150 million euros over the course of the contract. Then there’s the 10 million euros Raiola wants as commission for the deal. Total: 260 million euros — which is unacceptable at this moment in time.
Other things have also seen the talks for Pogba dry up. Barça have preferred to focus on other maters. At the moment they are immersed in clarifying Messi’s future and renewing Neymar’s contract. On top of that, they are working on strengthening the team in January. Pogba is not longer a priority for the club.
Barça will have money next summer to spend on players, but the signing of Pogba is no longer high on their list. The financial cost of the operation is excessive. For this reason, the conversations between all the parties involved are at a standstill.
Inside these parameters, Pogba would become the most expensive player in history, level with Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale. Raiola hopes a bidding war will break out for his client, to get the most money possible from the deal, but Barça have made it clear they won’t enter this game. It’s the same story for Manchester City, who were also involved in the race to sign Pogba, before eventually chucking in the towel at the disproportionate figures. It seems Paris Saint-Germain may be the only team prepared to pay.
Raiola’s presence in the talks has not exactly helped — he’s notoriously difficult to deal with. It’s not easy to to negotiate with the Italian, who has made it an obligation to include a 10 percent commission fee with any offer. Juve know they have a diamond on their hands and are not about to reduce their economic demands. Barça, though, have their hands ties. The board cannot take the club into too much debt, while the mass salary at the club is already bordering on too high.
It’s been more than one year now that Barça have been looking at signing the French midfielder. Ariedo Braida’s arrival at the club led to hope, with the Italian always insisting his excellent relationship with Juventus would help. The reality has been very different. From the 60 million euros first demanded by Juve, the price has now gone up to 100 million euros. Barça have not been able to reduce the figures — quite the contrary.
Pogba’s form last season pushed his price up and the competition for his signature. Despite the fact he’s not yet kicked on this season as expected, Juve’s directors remain determine to make as much as possible from the sale of the Frenchman. His price is not for touching.
