Image Source: BBC
Paul Pogba’s contract with Manchester United expired, and he will now be able to join Juventus for free. It is believed that the 29-year-old France midfielder will undergo a medical examination before finalizing the transfer this weekend.
For a then-record fee of £89 million, Pogba transferred from the Italian team to United in 2016. Pogba and United were unable to come to terms on a new contract, and the team announced at the beginning of June that he would become a free agent this summer.
Before the team’s travel to the United States, where they will play Barcelona and Real Madrid on July 27 and 30, Pogba is expected to start training with Juventus the following week.
Juventus placed fourth in Serie A for the second consecutive year, 16 points behind winners AC Milan. For the nine seasons prior, they had won the Italian championship, with Pogba playing a significant role in each of their victories from 2012–13 to 2015–16.
In his last stint at Juventus, where he also came on a free transfer from United in 2012 after graduating from the Old Trafford academy, he scored 34 goals from 178 games.
Pogba helped United in winning the EFL Cup and Europa League in his first season back at Old Trafford, but those two titles would end up being the only ones he would take home during his second stint.
He lost the vice-captaincy in 2018 after a disagreement with the team’s then-manager Jose Mourinho, and his effect was also diminished by injuries and patchy play.
Pogba, who transferred from Le Havre to the United academy in 2009 at the age of 16, played a key role in France’s World Cup victory in Russia in 2018 and scored 16 goals for United in 2018–19.
But in the past three seasons, he has made 91 appearances and scored eight goals, including one in 27 last season.
When United revealed Pogba would be leaving earlier this month, they said in a statement, “It was a low-key finale to a United tenure that offered so many individual high moments.”
According to BBC Sport, he received an extension from United, which was more lucrative than his previous contract. However, he claimed that the club was “bluffing” in the Amazon Prime documentary “The Pogumentary.”
Over the course of his two stints at the club, Pogba made 233 appearances and scored 39 goals, but during his final home game against Norwich City in April, his own fans booed him when he was replaced.
Following the club’s news that he was leaving, he posted a statement on social media thanking the “unconditional love of the supporters.”
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