Manchester United Triggers Pogba Contract Extension, Secures Midfielder For 2 Years

KEY POINTS

Paul Pogba is staying at Old Trafford for two more years
Manchester United activated a clause in his contract to avoid transfer complications
Pogba earlier said it was his "dream" to play for Real Madrid

Manchester United has triggered the clause that will keep Paul Pogba at Old Trafford until summer 2022. The French midfielder has been linked to a move to Real Madrid, but the contract extension means that Zinedine Zidane's side will have to wait a bit longer to get their chance.

ESPN reported that Manchester United activated the clause to avoid complications. Had the Red Devils not made this move, the 27-year-old could have started negotiating with clubs outside the Premier League this January.

“Paul's our player, he's going to be here for another two years,” United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said during a Friday news conference. “I’m sure Paul is focused on doing his best for us and we want to see the best of Paul and I'm sure in the next couple of years we'll get the best out of him.”

This serves as a big sigh of relief for the Red Devils after Pogba seemingly hinted at wanting a new challenge somewhere else. He mentioned Real Madrid multiple times, and this led to speculations that a move to Santiago Bernabeu could happen.

“Many things have been said. Of course, every footballer would love to play for Real Madrid and would dream about that. It’s a dream of mine, so why not one day?” Pogba said in a news conference a week ago via Reuters.

However, he also said that he loved being at Old Trafford and prefers to help United any way he can. Considering he has struggled since returning to training after testing positive for the coronavirus, work needs to be done. Following their Tottenham Hotspur match earlier this month, he drew criticism for giving away a penalty in that 6-1 home loss.

“Every player goes through difficult periods but you have to be strong mentally and we all need to try and get the team back to where it belongs,” Pogba said at the time.

This is not the first time that Real Madrid has been linked to the French footballer. In 2019, United was willing to talk to the La Liga giants about a possible transfer. Real never made an offer near what the Red Devils wanted.

Aside from Los Blancos, another club that showed interest in Pogba was Juventus FC.