Barcelona look to have beaten competition from Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain for the signature of Juventus midfield ace Paul Pogba.
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A high-level meeting was held yesterday between officials from the Catalan club and their counterparts at Juventus, and it is believed an agreement has been reached on a €100 million (Dh406m) transfer next summer.
The two clubs are officially denying they have struck a deal, and in any case no contract could be signed until after Barca’s presidential elections on July 18.
The Catalan club is currently operating without a permanent board and therefore nobody has the required authority to sanction a signing of such magnitude.
However, both main presidential candidates – Josep Maria Bartomeu and Joan Laporta – are in favour of signing 22-year-old former Manchester United trainee Pogba, and would therefore give the deal their blessing after they assume office later this month.
Yesterday’s meeting took place in Milan between two members of Barca’s interim advisory panel, Ariedo Braida and Albert Soler, and Juventus representatives Beppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici.
With Pogba already having expressed his preference for joining the Nou Camp club ahead of his other suitors, Juve are happy to postpone the player’s departure for a year due to Barca’s ongoing transfer ban from FIFA, which expires in January.
Rather than moving clubs mid-season – by which stage he would be ineligible to represent Barca in the latter stages of the Champions League – all parties are believed to have agreed to leave the deal until this time next summer. Pogba will receive an annual net salary of €12 million (Dh48.7m).
Barca are also on the verge of further strengthening their midfield with the addition of Turkey international Arda Turan from Atletico Madrid in a €35m (Dh142.1m) deal.
Unlike the move for Pogba, this is a transfer that the current interim board is prepared to undertake now due to the demands of manager Luis Enrique, who is worried about missing out on the creative ace if he is forced to wait another couple of weeks.
Turan’s agent Ahmet Bulut, who a few days ago claimed that his client was set for a move to the English Premier League, yesterday insisted that he has not been finalising a deal with Barca and that his next destination would be revealed later this week.
“I have not spoken with anyone from Barcelona – these newspaper stories are just rumours,” Bulut said.
“I am not going to say where Arda is going right now – it is not the right time. I would love to say but in three to four days we will let you know.”
However, those comments were contradicted by strong reports in the Spanish media that a five-year deal between Turan and Barca has in fact already been agreed.
Turan would not be able to play for Barca until their transfer ban expires in time for the January window, and there have been suggestions he could even return to former club Galatasaray on loan until that date.
