Pogba's Ultimatum Regarding Ronaldo Could Hamper His Contract Talks With Manchester United: Report

Paul Pogba has reportedly given Manchester United an ultimatum regarding Cristiano Ronaldo during contract talks.

Pogba has said he’ll sign an extension with the Red Devils only if the Old Trafford side offers him salary better than Ronaldo, making the midfielder the highest earner in the Premier League, reported French publication L’Equipe.

Ronaldo currently earns an annual wage of around $35 million, according to Spotrac. While he is the highest earner in the English top-flight, Pogba is the ninth-joint highest earner with around $20 million per season. Three more Red Devils teammates earn more than Pogba at present -- David de Gea, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.

The academy product, Pogba, who had left Manchester United without playing a league game in 2012, returned to Old Trafford from Juventus in 2016. The Red Devils paid $121 million for Pogba, who is the club’s record signing and the player has less than a year left on his contract. While Pogba has made such hefty demands, the Red Devils have accepted that the French midfielder’s resale value has decreased, according to Manchester Evening News.

Pogba had a flying start to the 2021-22 campaign, assisting four out of Red Devils’ five goals against Leeds United in their league opener. Pogba went on to add three more assists to his account in the next three games. However, since then, he has only suffered a dip in his form. He was slapped with a red card in Manchester United’s 5-0 humiliating loss to Liverpool at Old Trafford last month.

To make matters worse, Pogba sustained a thigh injury while training with the France national team Monday in the underway two-week international break. While Manchester United have had to face a few tough results recently and have busy winter months ahead, the 28-year-old is set to be sidelined until the New Year.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo, who returned to Manchester United for a second spell during the 2021 summer window, is the leading goal scorer for the Red Devils in the 2021-22 season. He has scored nine goals in 13 matches, five more than joint-second Mason Greenwood and Bruno Fernandes. Ronaldo has scored in each of his four appearances for Man Utd in the Champions League this term.