Barcelona rule out move for Manchester United star Paul Pogba... for now

Barcelona have ruled out a move for Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba, for the time being at least.

Standard Sport revealed earlier this month that whilst the Catalan giants would be eager to snare the World Cup winning midfielder they had doubts over how realistic a transfer might be this summer, particularly with the spectre of Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola looming over any possible deal.

Ariedo Braida, a director at the Camp Nou, now claims that there will be no imminent bid for Pogba.

"I do not think we are going to sign him [Pogba], but he is a great player,” Braida said.

"Today we talk more about money than about football, but the important thing is to buy well and not make mistakes."

Had Barcelona been prepared to bid they would have found it extremely challenging to convince United to sell their record signing, particularly with the closure of the English transfer window meaning that the Red Devils would have been unable to secure a replacement.

Pogba offered an indication that all is not well between him and United following Friday’s 2-1 win over Leicester, saying “there are things that I cannot say otherwise I will get fined” as speculation swirls over the state of his relation with manager Jose Mourinho.