Real
Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is not giving up on signing Juventus
midfielder Paul Pogba this summer, saying “anything can happen” before
the transfer deadline.
Manchester United appear best placed to sign Pogba, 23, although sources close to Juventus have told ESPN FC
that the Italian champions will not accept less than €120m for the
France international and also want the Premier League club to pay the
€25m fee for agent Mino Raiola, with the Old Trafford hierarchy
reluctant to meet those demands.
Ex-France star Zidane has spoken
regularly, if guardedly, through the summer on his admiration for his
compatriot, and Pogba himself has also chosen his words carefully when
asked if he would prefer to return to former club United or join the
European champions.
Speaking at a news conference in Ohio
ahead of Madrid’s first preseason outing this summer against Paris
Saint-Germain, Zidane was asked if there was now any chance of Pogba
moving to the Bernabeu before the transfer deadline on August 31.
“I don’t know. At the moment we are here
working,” he replied. “Until (August 31) anything can happen. He is
not yet a Madrid player. We cannot talk about what will happen.”
Madrid appear unlikely to pay anything
like the €120m asking price unless they could first raise funds by
selling squad players such as James Rodriguez or Alvaro Morata for
significant sums.
Pressed as to whether this meant he had
asked club president Florentino Perez to sign Pogba, he said: “Now is
not the moment to talk about this.
“Everyone is interested in Pogba. He is a
great player and when you are at Madrid, you always want the best. Now
we must respect some things – he is a Juve player. Today I can say
nothing.”
Zidane added that it was difficult but
not impossible for a club in Madrid’s position, having won two of the
last three Champions Leagues, to sign players to keep improving.
“It is difficult to improve Madrid’s
squad. We won [the Champions League] with this squad,” he said. “There
are good players elsewhere too. You can always improve things and it
will always be like that here. There are always players who can improve
the team.”