Paul Pogba will be released from his Manchester United contract at the end of June and a transfer
to Juventus is close.
Pogba played for the Turin club between 2012 and 2016 before making a world-record €105
million move back to Man Utd, where he had come through the academy and played a handful
of first-team matches.
His return to Old Trafford did not live up to its billing, though, and after six seasons
at the club he will depart with just a couple of trophies to show for what might have been
the peak years of his career.
Pogba did not come cheap to Man Utd, either.
His annual wage was reported to be around €17.4 million, while he will also earn a
loyalty bonus of around €4.7m when he ultimately departs the club.
In total, he has cost the club over €214m.
How does that compare to what Juventus will spent on him?
The Serie A club do not have the same wealth as Manchester United and, accordingly, Pogba
will not receive a salary as great as he did at Old Trafford, despite the fact there is
no transfer fee attached to his return.
Instead, Nicolo Schira reports that the World Cup winning midfielder is set to sign a three-year
deal with the Turin giants that is worth €8m per year, plus around €2m potentially in
bonuses.
This will mark his fall from the game’s highest-earning players.
Kylian Mbappe, for example, is thought to be on a contract of around €50m per year
at Paris Saint-Germain, while Erling Haaland will earn around €34m per year at Manchester
City.
According to reports in Italy, this is a smaller deal than the one that was proposed to him
by PSG.
It is also substantially smaller than the one that he was previously on with Man Utd.
Pogba, however, prefers to move back to Juventus, where he is set to land a contract with a
total of €24m.
Serge Gnabry has allied himself alongside Bayern Munich team-mate Robert Lewandowski
as both try to force moves away from the Allianz Arena club this summer.
Lewandowski has been closely linked with a move to Barcelona in the transfer window.
The prolific striker has regularly indicated his desire to leave the club, notably stating
earlier this week that his “era” with FCB is over.
Gnabry, meanwhile, finds himself the subject of speculation associating him with Real Madrid
and Liverpool.
There have also been reports suggesting Arsenal might have been interested in taking him back
to the Emirates Stadium, although after they missed out on Champions League qualification,
those have died down again.
The winger had not previously been as vocal about his desire to depart but in a press
conference prior to a Germany international fixture, he aligned himself with Lewandowski.
"In my view, it's a bit of a shame how things go back and forth - as a team-mate, as part
of the club," Gnabry stated when asked at a Germany press conference.
"That's why I hope that somehow a peaceful agreement will take place.
"It's not that each of us only thinks about money.
There are other things that play a big role in making you feel good.
"Appreciation should come from both sides - from club to player and from player to club."
Gnabry has enjoyed a strong campaign with Bayern this time around, scoring 17 goals
in all competitions, including a personal best of 14 in the Bundesliga.
His most prolific campaign overall, though, was 2019/20, when he banned 23 goals as FCB
swept all before them, winning the Champions League.
FootballTransfers estimates that his transfer value is €43 million, which is substantially
more than the €8m Bayern paid Stuttgart to sign him in 2018.