Holding out for Barcelona? Paul Pogba rejects chance to join Chelsea in €85m deal — reports

Paul Pogba was the subject of a bid from Chelsea this summer but decided to remain at Juventus. Franck Fife / AFP

France midfielder Paul Pogba rejected the chance to join Chelsea this summer despite Juventus accepting an offer from the Premier League champions, according to reports in the Italian media.

Pogba is undoubtedly one of the most sought-after talents in Europe, but the 22-year-old has opted to remain at Juventus for a further season.

And according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juve accepted an offer of €85 million (Dh348m) from Chelsea only for Pogba to turn down the London club. It has also been reported that Pogba was offered a €12m a year salary by Chelsea, which would have represented a significant hike on his current €4.5m-a-year deal at Juventus.

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Gazzetta has claimed that Pogba met with his agent on the day the offer was accepted and spent hours discussing the possibility of moving to Chelsea, but ultimately decided to remain in Turin.

It is reported that Pogba is relishing the added midfield responsibility following the exit of Arturo Vidal to Bayern Munich and Andrea Pirlo’s MLS move, while talk the player prefers a move to Barcelona — which has been discussed for next summer — remains widespread.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been left frustrated after failing to secure a number of his high-profile transfer targets this summer. As well as a failed attempt for Pogba, Mourinho was determined to sign England defender John Stones from Everton, but saw a succession of bids turned down by the Premier League club.

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