Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed his opinion that the Red Devils aren’t paying too much for Paul Pogba.
The Juventus star has been linked with a return to Old Trafford this summer in a deal worth around €110m, as reported by ESPN FC, with many eyebrows raised over the fee.
However, Ferdinand disagrees with the notion that he’s too expensive, and believes that it would be an astute move from the Premier League giants in today’s market and believes that there are other factors that need to be considered from a brand point of view too.
“It doesn’t matter what anyone says about the fee Juventus are getting for Paul Pogba because that is the going rate for a player of his quality,”he told ESPN FC.
“It wasn’t long ago that people said United were not spending enough, so I say go with it and get Pogba in whatever it costs.
“The money Man United bring in from a variety of sources means they can justify this kind of transfer, so it is not a crazy deal from their perspective.
“You are investing in massive potential here. This player could be the best midfielder in world football for the next 10 years and if he was to spend those years at United, then it would be a good investment to buy him now.”
The 37-year-old went on to explain that Pogba’s social media presence and appeal to sponsors will also play into the move, with the French midfield boasting big numbers of followers on Twitter and Instagram.
Pogba is described by Ferdinand as a ‘brand in his own right’ and that will be a factor in the club’s decision to acquire him as they won’t just be looking at what he brings to Jose Mourinho’s squad, albeit that is the determining factor as to whether or not the transfer makes sense.
While the man at the centre of this summer’s biggest transfer saga remains on holiday after his extended involvement at Euro 2016, he is expected back at pre-season training at Juve on Sunday, but could well have completed his return to Manchester prior to then.
Based on his comments above, it’s evident that Ferdinand is a big supporter of the move as Mourinho looks to rebuild the spine of the team and put recent disappointment behind them.