One of the most drawn out transfer sagas of the summer looks set to rumble on as Paul Pogba has yet to complete his much talked-about move to Manchester United.
The amount of money being asked for the player by Juventus has made headlines, given that it would be yet another summer where the world record fee would be broken, but the player's agent, Minoa Raiola has poured a bit of cold water on all that by stating in an interview that he's not concerned with the cost.
Speaking to Corriere Dello Sport, Raiola said that he cares only about his players, who "I treat like my children."
"I am at the service of my players," added Raiola, "and I give everything to them, 150 percent of myself. I'm proud of myself when I do well for them."
There is no deal done regarding Paul Pogba, lots of bla bla bla.
— Mino Raiola (@MinoRaiola) 21 July 2016
Focusing on the Pogba rumours, he said "I don't care about setting record transfers. The newspapers write that Pogba can set a new record, but I've already set records with Ibrahimovic and Nedved. I want the best for my footballers, and that therefore means also for Pogba."
Meanwhile, Mourinho was keen for the rumours not to move off the back pages, as he added fuel to the fire, almost literally, while on pre-season tour with Manchester United in China.
Speaking to the BBC, he said "You have smoke, you have fire. I am not going to try to make you naive and believe that we are not trying for one player."
His French team-mate Dimitri Payet has also been dragged into the speculation, and speaking to RTL, he said that the cost of the player isn't exactly a measure of how good they are.
"The problem today is that good players are expensive," said Payet. "Unfortunately that's the way the market is. We, the players, can do nothing about it. I can't tell you if Pogba is worth that price today, but all I know is that he's an exceptional player."
However, he stated that he has no doubts over the quality of his compatriot: "regardless of the price, it will certainly be an exceptional recruit for this team, and I'm sure that Paul can help this club to grow and to win trophies."
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