Paul Pogba Reportedly Has No Buy-Back Clause in His Manchester United Contract

Juventus reportedly do not have the option to buy Paul Pogba back from Manchester United, contrary to claims they did.

According to Tuttosport (h/t Calciomercato.com's Lorenzo Bettoni), there is no such clause in the Frenchman's contract that would enable them to bring him back to Turin, nor could they afford his €12 million (£10.7 million) annual salary.

Premium Sport HD (h/t Sport Witness' Tom Coast) had reported in February that, according to French outlet L'Equipe, Pogba had a buy-back clause in excess of €60 million (£53 million), which the Bianconeri could activate to re-sign the midfielder.

However, in Coast's own attempt to verify the report, he could not "see anything that even remotely hints" at a mention of such a clause in L'Equipe.

Bleacher Report's Gianni Verschueren also doubted the existence of the clause:

Pogba's future has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after a dip in form saw him start on the bench for clashes with Sevilla and Huddersfield Town, as well as being withdrawn well before the end in defeats to Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.

His subpar performances have also sparked debate as to whether United manager Jose Mourinho is getting the best out of him, as Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri often did at Juve.

Red Devils legend Gary Neville gave his take on which system will allow the 24-year-old to shine, per Super 6:

Like many pundits, the former England international is in agreement Pogba is at his best in a midfield three, which Mourinho has appeared unusually reluctant to utilise this season.

However, he did so in United's 2-1 win over Chelsea in their last outing, and Pogba earned praise for his efforts from Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News:

Football analyst Dave O'Brien shared the numbers behind his improved display:

Pogba will likely be able to banish speculation over an exit from the club if he can continue to impress for the remainder of the season, but should he struggle, rumours will continue to swirl.

Regardless, it seems he won't be returning to Juventus, as the costs of the deal would be prohibitive even if they did have a buy-back option.