Ariedo Braida – Barcelona pulled out of the race to sign Pogba for economic reasons

Barcelona’s director of international football Ariedo Braida has claimed the club opted against signing Paul Pogba because they felt the France international was too expensive.

The Camp Nou side were linked with a move for the 23-year-old over the past 12 months, but decided to sign Andre Gomes from Valencia instead to strengthen their midfield, as Pogba left Juventus for Manchester United for an initial fee of €105 million.

“Barcelona pulled out of the race to sign Pogba for economic reasons,” Braida told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“There is no discussion about his qualities and I think he will assert himself at Manchester United, but there will be criticism each time he is not at his best. People will see the transfer fee and expect him to win games on his own and this is simply not possible.

“Some figures are upsetting. No one is worth that kind of money. When you get to a certain level, we are getting too detached from normal life. We are talking about an operation of €150 million if we include wages.

“You never know how a player will react to being overpriced like that. Maybe it will not even influence him, but the pressure must be enormous.”