No. They'll think that we want to get back to winning stuff to keep the money rolling in and if £100m+ on Pogba is necessary according to the manager then we'll spend that. Our current board are kinda ideal in that sense.

Sky Sports in Italy are apparently now reporting a meeting has been set up between Juventus and Raiola over the transfer.

Ultimately, it'll be up to the player.

If his heart's set on Madrid, then he'll either stay at Juventus for the time being, or might come to us for a year or two, to boost his bank balance.

If you can get MUTV our next game (Friday) is in China. I can already see the crowds turning up when Utd roll up before the match even kicks off.

The fan base is off the scale, one of the reasons they can spend this kind of money.

I think it's 69 global partners now (since Virgin signed up).

It does piss me off greatly though that he practically went for nothing. Higuin and Pogba are at clubs who don't want to sell which is why the money is outrageous.

How much did Watford turn down for Troy Deeney?

His wages are just in line with what top players get I guess?

I just look at the Bale transfer as the best example. He went for a World Record fee, but if it hadn't worked out and he had to be sold Real would have got most of the money back due to his age. If they sold him tomorrow they would get most of the money back if not more.

Compare that to signing a player at 28/29 and you are essentially writing off the money.

That's just my view of the modern game though, at the end of the day I am attempting to rationalise paying £100m to get a human being to work for you for a few years - It probably doesn't stand up to that much scrutiny really!

Yeah, my mate did a lot of these sponsorship deals for you guys, I know how crazy it is.

I know my thinking is outdated and it's why Im not passionate for any particular club anymore, partly due to the money... It would be good to think that a player had an interest in a club he signs for apart from the money... Yep, Pogba has previous links with u guys...

Just like with De Gea, if Pogba comes back here, it will not be easy pickings for Real to get someone whom we might want to keep.

We are in a new era in terms of transfer fees due to the new TV deal, when in previous years a decent player might have been worth say £10 million, that figure is probably now nearer to £30 million thanks to the massive influx of extra cash.

So to see figures like £100 million being talked about, as crazy as that does sound, it is just inflation happening before our eyes.

Why are you trying to reopen arguments by mentioning De Gea?

I was not trying to reopen any old arguments, I was merely using him as an example to further the point that I was attempting to make in that post.

You nearly caused a riot a couple of weeks ago by refusing to acknowledge that only an admin error stopped De Gea from moving a year ago. You know this. There is only one reason to bring it up again and its frankly baiting of Jim De Ville to be mentioning it again.

I don't know why on earth you would do this.

Except De Gea isn't a good example to use because he was a rather easy picking, if not for an admin error. If they had an extra few minutes he'd have been a Real Madrid player. If Real Madrid want a player, generally they tend to get them.

But you know this because people have been over this with you 100 times before...

http://www.skysports.com/football/ne...g-to-sky-italy

104m euros bid apparantly

No I was not baiting him or anyone else, as I say I was only using his name (am I even allowed to mention his name??) as an example to further my point in that post, I did not wish to start any arguments old or new.

I do not bait or troll people, that I'd not why I post, nor what I am about.

Again I was specifically talking about this time and in the future, and using De Gea as an example of Real not getting a player that they wanted.
What happened in terms of De Gea, was not what I was talking about.

What we know about the De Gea situation is he wanted to go, Madrid wanted to buy, we had agreed to sell.

I'm not sure we can particularly conclude from that we valiantly resisted their advances and kept our man.

The point is they didn't get him, so if they want a player from us, it will be on our terms, and if we wish to sell them, we are not a club that Real can just rush in and decide that they want a player, and then get them just like that.

I was not meaning to re-open old arguments or debates, I merely just used his name as an analogy to the situation that was being talked about.

You missed the bit about him not signing for them, and then signing a new long-term deal with us.

Someone signing a new long-term deal at a club sure points to me that they are happy quite where they are, but that is just me (see Vardy as another example of this).

But either way, we have been over this loads of times before (that is not to say if anyone wants you do do again, they are more than welcome to do so, I am most certainly not trying to impinge on anyone doing so), and this was not why I mentioned his name this time.

Sky Sports News just mentioned us being about to put in a bid, this must have been what they were talking about, so thanks for the link.

I think we may have to go a tad bit higher than that, but that is a very high first, opening gambit/offer.

It might be nonsense but if it's true Jones has been told he'll have a chance to prove himself as first-choice CB, and presumably you don't buy Bailly unless you intend to use him, could it means the manager isn't a big fan of Smalling?

Absolutely unbelievable.

But he's the wrong example to use, because he didn't stay on your terms. He stayed because Real Madrid made a mistake.

The fact that they didn't get him doesn't suit your argument about them wanting Pogba because they only didn't get him because of a mistake. Had he said no from the beginning and signed the contract, then you could use him. If he didn't stay quiet about the whole thing then come minutes away from signing for them, but for an admin error, then you could use him. But he didn't stay out of loyalty, regardless of him signing a contract after the deal fell through.

He doesn't work in your example because them failing to get your player had absolutely nothing to do with you. If you sign Pogba and they come in for him in a couple years, the fact that they failed to sign De Gea because of an admin error won't protect you. It won't mean anything.

It really is

The implication was that Jones and Smalling would be first-choice, with Bailly dipping in and out.

I know, I like Smalling

delete

Very good!