Why do you believe that's what he wants? Because that's what Real's media outlets have been telling you? We've also been told all along that we've had a deal agreed with Pogba in principle since the start. Why do you prefer to believe the one story over the other?
The simple truth here is that if Pogba wanted to go to Real, he'd wait for them to come in for him. There'd be no agreements in principle, no protracted negotiations, he'd simply have told us "no" and had Raiola press the Madrid angle for him instead. He's young enough that running his contract down a little (if Real weren't willing to pay up) wouldn't adversely affect his career. And if Real were unwilling to pay that sort of fee, why would he want to come to us to sign a long-term contract that will do nothing other than to increase his valuation if his goal is to end up there eventually anyway?
I think the most likely explanation for the delay is the most widely reported one: there are complications with the payment to Raiola and Juve are playing hardball with us.
[edit] None of that's to say that Real won't come in with a last-minute bid to gazump us, but it would still have to meet Juve's valuation and none of that is contingent on where Pogba wants to end up. If both clubs meet the valuation, it might come down to his preference and that's really the only situation where we'll truly know his mind.[/edit]
I meant I believe it's his preference to go to Real. I don't believe us agreeing a deal in principle with him makes it as simple as 'Pogba prefers United to Real'. And it is not just Spanish media that have reported that his preference is Madrid.
I'm aware that he can obviously only go to Real if they meet the valuation. My point was, whatever talks may be happening or have happened between him/Raiola and Zidane may have caused him to not want to rush into signing a deal with us.
And who knows, perhaps he WILL stay at Juve for longer and wait for Real. He hasn't joined us yet. That would depend also on whatever assurances Real can offer him of course.
Again, he may well come back here. If he does, it won't be because he was forced, of course. It will likely be because we offered obscene cash to him. Quite simply, I believe he would prefer to play for Real than us, which isn't outrageous.
Teams like Everton, Palace and West Ham have agreed deals this summer with Witsel, Batshuayi and Bacca. I doubt all Everton fans are certain Witsel will join because a deal has been agreed. The fear will always remain that Juve don't sell Pogba and out up the money, and Witsel would likely stall until he was confident that wasn't the case. I'm sure he'd rather join them than stay in Russia, but he wouldn't rather join the, than Juve. At the moment, Juve haven't met the fee, but they are interested, which is why the deal won't go through in 24 hours. Shaqiri eventually joined Stoke as they were the only ones who would pay, however, he took his sweet time in signing, although the numbers were accepted well before. I also doubt Robinho or Aguero would have joined City if Barca/Real matched the numbers.
Of course, Real may not match the fee, but as long as they are 'interested' and the market remains open, I doubt Pogba will sign in a hurry. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a case of any deal with Real being held up only by commission to see him waive his fee or a part of it to help.
Not trying to be a pessimist, and was previously more confident, but that was largely due to announcements that Real had withdrawn completely which came out a couple of weeks back. While they remain in the hunt according to reports, I will never be as confident, as I believe they would be his first choice.
