Paul Pogba, who was stripped of the Manchester United vice-captaincy on Tuesday, could potentially leave the club in January after his relationship with José Mourinho hit an all-time low. But with a salary of £250,000 a week and a fee likely to be in the region of £100m, which clubs have the financial might to sign the French World Cup winner?
Barcelona
“Pogba’s an elite player who’s won everything. I think he’d like to be competing for more than he is. He would always be welcome.” That was Luis Suárez’s verdict before the transfer window shut and while it should not necessarily be seen as part of a carefully devised strategy, nor was this a purely personal opinion – and certainly not one out of step with the club. Barcelona want Pogba and believe that Pogba wants to join them, too. Sid Lowe
Bayern Munich
Do Bayern have the money to buy Pogba? Yes, of course. Do they want to? Not in a million years. The top people at Bayern are not huge fans of divisive characters such as Pogba. The fact that United paid £89m for him was hard to understand for the Bayern hierarchy. The German champions, as always, have a big budget but they are after creative players on the wings rather than a “worker” in the middle. Christian Falk
Chinese clubs
Transfer regulations and taxes introduced in 2017 to curb “irrational” spending on foreign players have worked and would make Pogba especially expensive in China – even if he wanted to come at this stage in his career – and that “if” would be almost as big as the transfer fee. In theory it is possible that the biggest spenders in recent years such as Guangzhou Evergrande, Shanghai SIPG, Hebei CFFC, Jiangsu Suning and one or two others would love to make a huge statement and a bigger investment but realistically, it would be very difficult indeed. John Duerden
Juventus
Juve would always be interested in bringing Pogba back but, after a summer in which they spent £88.5m on Cristiano Ronaldo, they are not about to spend another £100m in January. They were, in fact, ready to start talks with United and were going to offer the Frenchman a five-year deal before the Ronaldo deal happened but the Premier League club were not willing to discuss a potential exit for Pogba. The Frenchman still has an excellent relationship with everyone at Juventus and the Turin club would look into the possibility of bringing him back if an opportunity arises next summer. Fabrizio Romano
Manchester City
Could Pep Guardiola elevate Pogba to the kind of Kevin De Bruyne-level displays his mercurial talent suggests he is capable of but is yet to return? We may never know because Guardiola’s April revelation that Mino Raiola had offered Pogba to Manchester City for a January transfer came after the player’s agent branded the Catalan a “coward, dog”. If this points to Guardiola possibly not wanting to deal with Raiola he did also state that Pogba is “a top, top player”, so a move cannot be ruled out. Jamie Jackson
Paris Saint-Germain
Pogba fits PSG’s misguided transfer policy; a celebrity luxury player who they barely need but desperately want for image purposes. However, FFP restrictions mean signing the Frenchman is, for now, unrealistic bordering on impossible. On Monday Uefa again delayed a decision over sanctions with “more thorough investigation” needed for authorities to disentangle cash injections from PSG’s Qatari sponsors and the club’s obligation not to exceed a €30m deficit over three seasons. A summer move for the Celta Vigo midfielder Stanislav Lobotka collapsed as, only after five meetings, did PSG reportedly admit that FFP limited the deal to a loan move or a free transfer. Pogba must be patient for a Paris move. Adam White
Real Madrid
Real Madrid have been unusually careful spenders over the past few years, not signing a galáctico since James Rodríguez in 2014, and while Pogba interests them they are unlikely to be drawn into an expensive battle. Madrid have let it be known that there is €300m available for transfers – but that is being reserved for Neymar. Only an acceptance of defeat or a change of mind on the Brazilian would bring the focus to the Frenchman, although that is more plausible than it was a few months ago. Sid Lowe
John Duerden, Christian Falk, Jamie Jackson, Sid Lowe, Fabrizio Romano and Adam White
