It always seems like a good idea for a club to give themselves the option to add an extra year to a player’s contract.
It allows them to keep some control of the situation and it gives them extra time to find a buyer to avoid losing a star player on a free transfer.
Paul Pogba has been linked with a move away from Man United for years now, but the club have protected themselves by triggering the option to extend his deal by an extra year:
They confirm that this decision was taken before Pogba started talking up a potential move to Real Madrid during the international break, and it means he’s now tied to United until June 2022 at least.
It sounds like the plan from here is to try and agree a new deal with the Frenchman over the next few months that will tie him down for a the long-term, but they may have to explore selling him at the end of the season if that can’t be agreed.
It’s not clear how the player or the agent have reacted to this, but it puts United in a position of strength for a few months at least.