Feel like I might be making a left of field point here, but I think there isn't a hope in hell of us letting pogba go while he has a contract, as he is so commercially important to us.
Like United, Pogba is presented to an audience of millions around the world on the pitch in the form of slick passes, thrusting runs and stuttered penalty run-ups, but also presented off the pitch as clickable, likeable and shareable content. And, again like United, Pogba’s ‘commercial side’ is seemingly immune to underwhelming performances. While a few of us might feel disappointed with Paul's time here so far, this has had no effect on how important he is to the clubs hierarchy, nor has it damaged the image of this young talented footballer that people like and want to like. His partnership with Adidas is worth 35 million quid and is just entering into its third year of a decade long contract, bear in mind Barca are a Nike team.
That is why, upon news last week that Pogba had returned to training unsettled and unhappy, club sources stressed in the most forthright and certain terms that he would not be sold. Pogba, simply put, is too valuable. He is the face of United’s future. The face of our future is wearing a frown because he does not feel appreciated by Jose.
With his comments, Pogba, perhaps, wanted to demonstrate his power – to show, after a year of being marginalised by Mourinho, that he is fully aware of how important he is to United. Rather than put the flames of speculation out, he fuelled them, knowing he can, because what he represents – talent, flamboyance, marketability – currently holds more sway at the club than his manager’s particular vision of success. Even if Pogba was not performing- and currently, he is - then his poor performances would likely be tolerated for a considerable amount of time, simply because he offers so much more to the club. The same cannot be said of any other player in Mourinho's squad, nor Mourinho himself.
The old saying goes that no player is bigger than the club. However, when we signed Pogba, we consciously elevated a player to our level, aligning his image with our in order to invest in a long commercially successful partnership. Unless Jose and Pogba settle their differences soon, Jose will come to realise where our loyalties lie.