Barcelona’s director of sporting relations Albert Soler has revealed the La Liga champions had first right of refusal on Paul Pogba this summer.
Pogba, 23, eventually returned to Manchester United in a world record £89m fee this summer but had attracted interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Much of the summer was a two-horse race between Madrid and United, but Soler has now revealed Barcelona could have signed him first had they wanted to.
“Last year we reached a deal with Juventus for us to have priority option when they sold Pogba,” Sky News quotes Soler as saying.
“This summer we decided that there were players that suited us better on a sporting level.
“The idea of the board was that nobody would be able to get ahead of us in the market. It allowed us to have options.”
Pogba has impressed since returning to United this season and is currently their highest rated player (8.05). Furthermore, no player is averaging more shots per game in the Premier League than the Frenchman (5).
For more stats on Paul Pogba, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
