Barcelona have made contact with the agent of Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba regarding a future move to the Catalan club, according to the Spanish publication Marca.
The newspaper reports under-fire club president Josep Bartomeu has made signing the France international a priority in an attempt to win favor with supporters, thus enhancing his chances for re-election this summer.
Though Barcelona are in the process of serving a FIFA-imposed two-window transfer ban, club officials understand they can continue to sign players until the embargo is lifted in January 2016.
In January, the Catalan club believed it had uncovered two options which would allow them to circumnavigate the transfer ban:
1. The option would allow Barcelona to sign players, give them a normal working contract and then have them wait to play until January 2016 – similar to the circumstance this season when Luis Suarez was permitted to train with the first-team and participate in friendly matches while serving his four month FIFA-imposed ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.
2. It would involve Barcelona reaching an agreement with the player, but then that individual would continue playing with his current team until January 2016. Much like when Bayern Munich reached agreements with Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski while they were at Borussia Dortmund. The players finished their seasons with Dortmund before moving on to Bayern at the conclusion of the campaign.
According to Marca, Barcelona have contacted Pogba’a agent Mino Raiola to express their desire to sign his client, but have asked the representative to tell the France international to remain with Juventus until the Catalan club’s ban is over.
Bartomeu wants to agree on a deal before the current season is over and use Pogba’s signing as an electoral weapon, similar to when former president Joan Laporta engineered the transfer of Ronaldinho from Paris Saint-Germain in 2003.
Persuading Pogba to sign will be a tall task for the Catalan club since Real Madrid, PSG, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have reportedly made the France international a transfer target.
Despite signing a contract extension with Juventus until June 2019, Pogba’s agent recently informed the media he expects his client will leave the Italian club “this year or the next”.
