Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer met the media today ahead of the resumption of Premier League play tomorrow, and his media session provided a bit of news about midfielder Paul Pogba. With that magical mark in a contract’s life, the 18-months-left-to run point, having passed, the club had to take decisive action.
They did so by exercising the club option on the most expensive player in English football history. Paul Pogba, who came back to the club from Juventus in the summer of 2016, will now stay at the team for an additional year, meaning the world’s sixth highest paid player is now contracted to Old Trafford until the end of 2021/22.
Manchester United at Newcastle United FYIs
Kickoff: Sat October 17, 8pm BST, St James Park
TV: NBC Peacock, a streaming servicone (US) Sky Sport (UK)
United Team News: go to this link
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Betting Odds: Newcastle win 17/4 Draw 13/4 United win 71/100
“Paul is our player, he’s going to be here for another two years,” Solskjaer said today. “I’m sure he’s focused on doing his best for us and we want to see the best of Paul. I’m sure in the next couple of years we’ll get the best out of him.”
Pogba, who persistently gets linked to Real Madrid in transfer narratives, broke the world transfer fee record when he returned to United in ’16, but only head the title of world’s most expensive player for one year. Paris Saint-Germain, who face United in the Champions League on Tuesday night, shattered the record by a very wide margin when they signed Neymar from FC Barcelona in the summer of 2017.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.