Manchester United transfer news: Paul Pogba would ‘not bring much’ to Real Madrid, says Jorge Valdano

The former Madrid player and coach questioned what the French World Cup winner would bring to the team

Tom Kershaw
Tuesday 30 April 2019 06:09 EDT
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confident Paul Pogba will be at Manchester United next season

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Jorge Valdano has questioned whether Manchester United‘s Paul Pogba would be a worthwhile acquisition for Real Madrid, claiming the French World Cup winner would “not bring much” to the team.

The former Madrid player and coach admitted that Pogba could add a goalscoring threat to the struggling Spanish side, but that the 26-year-old wouldn’t necessarily be any technically superior to the club’s current midfield.

Despite Zinedine Zidane’s return, Madrid have continued to endure a troubling season, suffering their tenth league defeat of the season last weekend to Eibar, and are preparing for a dramatic overhaul in the summer.

“He would not bring much to the play [of Madrid], but he would bring goals,” Valdano told Spanish radio station Onda Cero.

“He’s more of a goalscorer than all of Real Madrid’s central midfielders.”

Speculation has continued over Pogba’s future, who claimed in a recent interview that “every player dreams of playing for Real Madrid”,

However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted he is confident that his star player will remain at the club.

“You can’t guarantee anything in football but yes I think Paul is going to be here,” Solskjaer said. ”I can assure you that he is very determined to be successful at United.”

United are genuinely considering selling Pogba if Real Madrid come calling
United are genuinely considering selling Pogba if Real Madrid come calling (PA)

Pogba has scored 16 goals in all competitions this season but has come under scrutiny once again after a streak of form that’s seen United lose seven of their last 10 games.

However, the midfielder insisted the scorn of pundits such as Roy Keane and Gary Neville has never affected him.

“Criticism from British pundits? No worries. They are paid to say things in front of the camera,” Pogba told French outlet RMC Sport.

“I’m just on the pitch. They can say what they want, they are paid for it. I’m not paid to talk. I get paid to be on the field and fight for my team. That’s all.”

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