Zinedine Zidane Talks Paul Pogba Rumours, Defends Barcelona's Ernesto Valverde

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has reiterated he is an admirer of Paul Pogba, but he would not be drawn on rumours linking the Manchester United star with Los Blancos.

The Telegraph's James Ducker reported Pogba wants to join Real Madrid and is set to push United to let him move this summer. The Spanish giants are said to want the Frenchman to do just that, in order to give them a stronger negotiating position when it comes to agreeing a fee.

Zidane was asked about the midfielder in his press conference ahead of Real's trip to Real Sociedad on Sunday:

It is not the first time the manager has expressed his admiration for Pogba since he returned to the club in March:

The 26-year-old has contributed 16 goals and 11 assists to his name in all competitions for United this season, but much of his best work was done in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first two months in charge after he replaced Jose Mourinho in December.

Real don't get a great deal in the way of goal contributions from their first-choice midfield trio of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos—they've scored nine times between them this season and assisted 15 goals.

Pogba could help in that regard, and if Zidane could eke out more consistent performances from him than he's shown at Old Trafford, he'd be an enormous asset.

Per Marca's J.L. Calderon, Zidane was also asked about Barcelona counterpart Ernesto Valverde, whose Blaugrana side suffered a humiliating UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Liverpool on Tuesday.

Having taken a 3-0 lead in the first leg of their semi-final, Barca lost 4-0 at Anfield a year on from losing 3-0 at Roma from a 4-1 lead in the quarter-final.

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Zidane had sympathy and pointed to Valverde's excellent domestic results with the team:

"It's very difficult to win the Champions League and we know what we did was impressive, winning four in five years is a bit special, it was difficult and complicated until the last minute.

"We value that a lot, but all titles are important, La Liga allows you to be good in other competitions because it's the day to day.

"What do I think of the criticism of Valverde? Fair or not, he knows about it. What he's done until now, he's done phenomenally.

"We can't doubt what he's done, his work, whether it's fair or not I can't say; you have to accept it because that's how it is."

ESPN's David Cartlidge felt Valverde should have been sacked after the Liverpool defeat:

If Valverde were to leave the club this summer, he'd likely be remembered for the team's failures in Europe.

However, he has also delivered two La Liga titles, losing just four matches in the process, and his side are in the Copa del Rey final this season having won it last year.

Sports writer Andy West credited the manager after Barca sealed the league title in April:

If the 55-year-old remains in charge beyond the summer, only Champions League success next season will redeem his time at the club in the eyes of some.

However, Zidane will be keenly aware of the enormous challenge he'll face to win domestic silverware with Real Madrid if Valverde stays.