Barcelona make contact with Paul Pogba

The MEN report Josep Maria Bartomeu refused to confirm whether Barcelona bid for Paul Pogba in the summer but hinted United did not want to sell their talisman.

Pogba’s future has dominated the headlines in recent months – despite it only being two years since Pogba claimed it was his ‘destiny’ to return ‘home’ following his then world-record move from Juventus.

Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique have been among those in the Barca camp who have openly talked up a move for Pogba but Bartomeu, the club’s president, stopped short of that.

“I read these rumours – not just Pogba but a lot of players. Most of the teams don’t want to sell their players. They want to grow,” he said.

“The business is no longer to sell players and earn money. In football you have to win, to generate funds, be successful. Also I don’t like to speak about other teams’ players.

“I’m not talking about Pogba, I’m talking generally. When you hear from agents that a certain player is on the market — and I’m not saying that about this player, but generally — I will sometimes call the CEO of that club and say, ‘Is it true that you want to sell this player?’ If they say yes, I can pass that message to our technical people. Usually they say, ‘No way, not for sale’ and that’s the end of the matter.”