MANCHESTER UNITED regret giving David de Gea a massive £375,000-a-week contract and face a similar dilemma with star man Paul Pogba, who’s contract expires at the end of this season, according to reports.
United’s hand has been forced many times in recent years to pay their stars big money when their contract is nearing an end.
The most recent example being star goalkeeper De Gea.
In a bid to fend off strong interest from Real Madrid, United handed De Gea a huge contract – making him the best paid player in the Premier League.
But according to The Athletic, United have come to regret the decision after De Gea’s form dropped drastically following the new deal.
And now United face a similar headache with Pogba, who’s contract is coming to an end next summer – and his agent, Mino Raiola, is notoriously difficult to deal with.
Contract rebel Pogba already picks up a cool £290,000-a-week, but wants a significant pay rise to keep him at the club – despite not fully delivering on his £89million transfer.
It is believed that Pogba wants to pick up a weekly wage north of £400,000-a-week, making him the best paid player at Manchester United AND in the league.
And if United fail to reach a contract extension agreement, they could be hit with an £89m-plus loss on the Frenchman who can negotiate a pre-contract with foreign clubs from January 2022.
PSG appear to be frontrunners for Pogba, and have the resources to offer the player the mega wages he wants, making the contract situation with United even more difficult.
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to hold onto Pogba and has previously stated that he wants to build a team around the France international.
Solskjaer said: “Paul is a fantastic player, a fantastic human being and has always been a great professional.
“I’ve had a great relationship with him, I had him in the reserves a few years back.
“And I said [previously], ‘if he’s in your squad, you’d build your team around him’, and I haven’t changed that much since then, so I would say the same now.”
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And more recently, Solskjaer has given a defiant message over Pogba’s contract situation, declaring that talks are still on-going between the club and the player’s representatives.
He said: “he talks are ongoing between Paul’s representatives and the club’s representatives.
“All that I’ve ever heard with Paul is he’s looking forward to the season.”
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