It’s been claimed that Real Madrid weren’t really that interested in the transfer of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba this summer at all.
The France international was strongly linked with a move away from Old Trafford for some time, with Diario Gol and others continuing to speculate over Real Madrid potentially spending big on bringing him to the Bernabeu.
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However, all this speculation may not be all it seems, with Eladio Parames, a close adviser of former Man Utd and Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, claiming Los Blancos used the press to generate hype and get fans following the club more closely during the summer months.
It’s certainly believable, though one also imagines a player like Pogba would also be of genuine interest to Real and indeed many other top European sides.
Parames, however, believes Madrid may not have been so keen on signing the 26-year-old due to the issues he would then bring to the dressing room.
“Real Madrid’s involvement was far less real than it seemed,” he told the Sun.
“In fact – a truth that one day will come out – they were not interested in opening the purse strings, were were not empty!
“And why? Because they realised that buying him would also mean buying the problems he creates in the dressing-room,
“Hence there has never been an official declaration of interest, rather just letting the news run to feed their fans’ passions and boosting newspaper sales and audiences of radios and televisions.”