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Manchester City were offered the chance to sign Manchester United’s Paul Pogba during the January transfer window, according to Man City manager Pep Guardiola.
“I said no. We don’t have the money to buy Pogba because he is so expensive,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday as he attacked the conduct of agent Mino Raiola.
Victory for Pep Guardiola’s side fixture against Manchester United on Saturday, would seal the Spaniard’s first Premier League title after a season of dominance over their rivals
Guardiola, who stressed he thought Pogba an “incredible player”, also suggested Raiola offered him then United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan shortly before his move to Arsenal in part-exchange for Alexis Sanchez.
Pogba has endured a troubled season at Old Trafford, and is by no means guaranteed to be in the starting line-up for the Manchester derby.
He responded to Guardiola’s revelations by posting a picture of himself on his Twitter feed with a hand cupped to his ear during a United training session, captioned “Say what?”
United manager Jose Mourinho indicated in late March that it was up to Pogba to explain why his form has been so inconsistent in recent months, declaring it was nothing to do with the France midfielder’s early-season injury problems.
There is no suggestion that United had given their approval for Pogba, signed for a club-record fee of £89 million ($125 million, 102 million euros) from Juventus in 2016 to be offered to City.
Guardiola’s anger was aimed solely at Raiola, with whom he has had a long-running feud dating back to the days when the Catalan coach was the manager of Barcelona.
AFP