Juventus' Paul Pogba (Photo : Reuters)
Reigning UEFA Champions League winner Barcelona and runner-up team Juventus have recently agreed in principle to a $100 million transfer of French midfielder Paul Pogba from Turin to Catalonia that will be made official next summer. This means that the 22-year-old will stay in Italy for one more year before relocating to Spain.
Barca is said to be disbursing $90 million to the Serie A squad plus $11 million in additional assets. Premier League club Manchester City was offering $112 million to buy Pogba, but reports abound that the 2013 Golden Boy awardee intends to settle in Camp Nou and join Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suárez and the rest of Luis Enrique's boys than to play at Etihad, as per Daily Mail Online.
Former club president Joan Laporta, who is again running for the team's top post this year, claimed that he was the reason why Pogba opted to come to Barca. He indicated that the key was his close relationship with the French man's agent, Mino Raiola.
Laporta also praised Pogba's value, saying that he is a "reference player" in the same league as Neymar, Suarez, and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of market value.
However, it is important to note that the transfer is not official yet and so anything is possible until next summer. It was also rumored that Laporta is using the Pogba promise to strengthen his electoral bid for Barca presidency against current president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
For the record, Barcelona is currently under a transfer ban enforced by FIFA as a penalty for the club's non-compliance of transferring players under 18 years old. The ban will be lifted on January 2016, according to Fox Sports.
