Barcelona Reportedly Not Keen on Paul Pogba After Being Offered €150M Deal

Paul Pogba capped off a terrific 2018 FIFA World Cup by scoring in Sunday's 4-2 final win over Croatia, but that hasn't inspired Barcelona to move for the player after they reportedly turned down the chance to sign him.  

Sport (h/t Sport Witness) reported Pogba's agent, Mino Raiola, has told Barca €150 million (£132 million) would be enough to sign the midfielder, but the Blaugrana want someone who is "much more talented on the ball."

According to the report, Pogba is keen on the idea of cutting ties with United manager Jose Mourinho and wants to wear Barcelona colours, but it doesn't look like the La Liga champions will facilitate the move.

Pogba scored to put France 3-1 ahead against Croatia in Moscow on Sunday, and Men In Blazers predicted his upturn in form at this World Cup would result in a switch to Catalonia:

Talk of a departure from Old Trafford has been present for effectively the midfielder's entire return to United thus far, largely owing to the fact he hasn't been able to recreate the kind of play he enjoyed at Juventus.

Blogger Liam Canning touched on the World Cup as a potential springboard for the player, as well as placing an onus on Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho to coax the best out of his star:

Barcelona recently bid farewell to iconic midfielder Andres Iniesta, as well as Brazil international Paulinho, while Arthur has arrived from Gremio to offer some engine-room reinforcement.

It's easy to see some truth in claims that Barcelona desire a player who's "more talented on the ball," being that Pogba's preference to carry and stretch longer passes perhaps doesn't fit in with their tiki-taka policy.

According to Sport, Raiola has already met with Barcelona technical director Eric Abidal regarding the move, which would net United a profit of almost 50 per cent on the player they signed for £89.3 million two years ago.

Pogba's displays in Russia are closer to that which Premier League spectators might have envisioned seeing on a more regular basis from Pogba. He even earned the praise of another star technician and 2007 Ballon d'Or winner Kaka, via Fox Soccer:

Barca's reluctance to invest will also undoubtedly be influenced by the size of the deal and their inability to afford it comfortably, at least presumably without selling a number of their current first-team crop.