The Saudi Pro League are continuing to push for Paul Pogba to be their marquee summer arrival, though the Juventus midfielder is unconvinced by a move at this stage, 90min understands.
The riches of the Middle East have tempted a number of high-profile players into making the switch this summer, including Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino and Ruben Neves to name just four.
More star names are expected to follow in the coming weeks and months, with Saudi Arabia looking to not only improve the quality of their league but also establish a real foothold in the world of football ahead of a bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), who have a controlling interest in Newcastle United, have already poured huge amounts of money into four of the biggest clubs in the country – Al Ittihad, Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli – and their intention is to continue attracting the best players in the world.
90min exclusively revealed in early June that Pogba was one of the biggest names on PIF’s radar and that remains the case, despite him being limited to just 151 minutes of football for Juventus last season because of a myriad of injury problems.
The 30-year-old even visited Saudi Arabia over the weekend, with sources confirming to 90min that talks were held with PIF over a potential move – though he primarily visited because of external business interests and personal reasons.
Pogba, as it stands, would prefer to remain at Juventus to prove himself to manager Massimiliano Allegri – the Italian brought him back to Turin for a second spell and has been loyal to Pogba throughout his career – but the club would not stand in his way if he indicated a desire to leave.
90min understands that a switch to the Saudi Pro League is likely in Pogba’s future at some point – PIF view him as the best Muslim player in the world and a cornerstone signing – and that if and when he makes the move, his wages would be on a par with the £172m Benzema earns per annum at Al Ittihad.
That would make Pogba the highest-paid player in the league once image right and add-ons are factored in, while the club he would join would almost certainly be Al Ittihad – making him a team-mate of Benzema and Kante, who also joined the champions from Chelsea earlier this window.
What we know
- Pogba is PIF’s number one transfer target as Saudi Arabia continue to scale up
- The 30-year-old played just 151 minutes of football for Juventus last season because of injury
- Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino some of the headline names to already move to the Middle East