Galatasaray boss Roberto Mancini has revealed that Manchester City passed up the chance to sign former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba on a Bosman transfer.
In the summer of 2012, Pogba had decided to leave Old Trafford when his contract expired, after becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of first-team opportunities being handed to him by former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
He eventually opted to join Juventus for less than £1million in compensation, where exposure to first-team football has seen him hailed as one of the finest young talents in the game, while he has also become established as an important part of the France national team.
City fans will perhaps be upset about Mancini’s missed opportunity, not only to sign up one of Europe’s most exciting youngsters but also to get one over on their Manchester rivals.
Speaking ahead of Galatasary’s match against Juventus this week, Mancini explained to Tuttosport: ‘He is a player I really like. Two years ago, before he went to Juventus, we could have signed him for Manchester City on a free transfer. To be honest, I can’t really remember why we decided not to.’
Pogba was last week selected as Europe’s best performing Under 21 player this year, after winning the 2013 Golden Boy Trophy.
The 20-year-old beat Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, Schalke’s Julian Draxler, Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane and Roma’s Marquinhos to the prize.
Written by Steve Milne – Have your say below
