Transfer Centre

Dimitar Berbatov: 'Manchester United want £200m for Paul Pogba'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 15 August 2019

Manchester United would only sell Paul Pogba to Real Madrid this summer for £200m, according to former Red Devils forward Dimitar Berbatov.

Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has claimed that the Red Devils will not sell Paul Pogba in the next couple of weeks unless Real Madrid come up with a £200m bid for the midfielder.

Pogba has been strongly linked with a move to the Bernabeu in this summer's transfer window, and the France international is still reportedly hopeful of joining Los Blancos before the end of the month.

Berbatov has paid tribute to the 26-year-old's "special" qualities, while the Bulgarian has said that only an offer of £200m will convince the 20-time English champions to sanction a sale before the Spanish window closes.

"Zinedine Zidane would love to bring Paul Pogba to Real Madrid but, against Chelsea on Sunday, we saw why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is determined to keep the French midfielder," Berbatov told Betfair.

"Pogba's perfect pass to Marcus Rashford for United's third goal was what I call 'pure football'. When I played for United, Michael Carrick would get the ball and his first thought was always to play it forward. He knew exactly where I was and there are plenty of examples of him giving me the ball to score a goal. Special players save their energy for the exact right moment.

"If United receive a bid from Madrid in the next fortnight in the region of £200m, then the transfer will happen. But I hope Pogba stays at United and I don't think Zidane will quit Madrid if he fails to sign his compatriot."

The 2018 World Cup winner provided two assists as United opened their 2019-20 Premier League campaign with a 4-0 home victory over Chelsea last weekend.

Italian champions Juventus have also been credited with a potential swoop for their former midfielder.