When it is finally completed after a saga lasting most of the summer, Paul Pogba’s transfer will represent a monumental pay-out by Manchester United. The fact Juventus will receive a world-record fee is just the start of the roll call of mind-boggling numbers involved in the Frenchman’s move.
The 23-year-old is set to become a United player again this week, just four years after leaving Old Trafford for a nominal compensation fee after the expiry of his contract in 2012. Having seen Pogba depart for Italy without a single first-team start to his name, the Red Devils surely can’t have foreseen forking out over £200 million for the midfielder to return to the north-west of England.
Because that is how much this deal will cost United when all is said and done. The £92m transfer fee, which surpasses the £86m Real Madrid paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale in 2013 as the most expensive ever, fails to cover even half of the total cost to Jose Mourinho’s outfit.
A large reason for the protracted nature of the deal was the wrangling over which club would be expected to pay a substantial fee to Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola. In a bid to force the transfer through, United eventually accepted that it is they who will fork out the £20m pay-off to the Italo-Dutch ‘super agent’, taking the overall fee to £112m.
And then, of course, there is the player’s wages. While Pogba currently earns around £4m at the Juventus Stadium, he is set to see his salary increase manifold at Old Trafford. His £400,000 per week pre-tax earnings will see him pocket £220,000 after deductions, costing United a total of £20.8m per season.
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Over the course of his five-year contract Pogba will therefore command a total of £104m, taking United’s total potential expense during the course of his stay to at least £216m. As such, it sits high in the list of blockbuster deals to have been agreed over recent years, even when taking into account the extraordinary multi-layered packages involving the likes of Bale and Neymar.
Pogba left United four years ago as a young talent with a bright future ahead of him. He will return this week as a four-time Italian champion, one of the world’s best-paid players and the subject of the most expensive operation in Manchester United history.> ..... - Goal