What does the summer hold for... Paul Pogba?
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Barcelona, Manchester City and PSG are among a host of clubs after the Juventus man - but what does his future hold?
SPECIAL REPORT By Carlo Garganese 
follow jay-jay on twitter @jjlovechildFast forward two years and Juventus’ crown jewel is now at the centre of a tug of war involving the same superpowers – and there could be a similar outcome.
The European champions have identified Pogba as their primary target this summer – with coach Luis Enrique informing the club hierarchy that he desires a powerful box-to-box midfielder. Despite being banned from registering anyone until 2016, Barcelona are still able to sign players now and play them next year.
On Wednesday, Barcelona directors Ariedo Braida and Alberto Soler flew out to Italy and tabled an official €80 million (£56.8m) bid for Pogba. The offer was swiftly rejected by Juventus.
"Barca offered us €80m for Pogba but we don't want to sell him," Juve director general Giuseppe Marotta confirmed to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Camp Nou presidential elections take place on July 18 and none of the candidates – particularly current incumbent Josep Maria Bartomeu and former chief Joan Laporta – will stand in the way of the Frenchman's signing if they win power. Both Bartomeu and Laporta – the two front-runners in the election race – have publicly confirmed they want Pogba at the club.
Pogba’s preferred next destination is Barcelona, and he admitted before the Champions League final that he has a desire to play with Lionel Messi.
"Playing with Messi would be a dream come true," he told AS. "He's the best player in the world. I love watching Barcelona play.”
But Juventus’ position on Pogba is very clear. This summer they will lose two key players as Carlos Tevez has returned to Boca Juniors while Andrea Pirlo has agreed to join New York City FC. They are unwilling to lose Pogba as well ahead of next season.
The Bianconeri have no financial requirement to sell, having made more money than any other club from last season’s Champions League. However, should they receive an outrageous offer then they will be open to the possibility of selling Pogba in 2016. Goal understands that having rejected Barca's opening bid of €80m (£56.8m), they would be willing to listen should that offer be increased to €100m (£71.1m).
One potential sticking point for an eventual move to Camp Nou would be Pogba's salary. He is demanding €12m a year, a figure that could unsettle some members of the squad as he would earn more than Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Luis Suarez. Thus, the club would likely have to offer pay rises to these players.
Manchester City are prepared to go even higher in the auction and are readying a world record transfer bid in excess of the €100m Real Madrid paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale. They also would pay Pogba a mammoth €346,000 (£246,000) a week.
The Eastlands outfit need to rejuvenate a somewhat ageing squad and are set to embark on a spending spree this summer having been dethroned as Premier League champions by Chelsea.
At just 22, Pogba attracts City for the same reasons he attracts all his suitors. He offers 10 years of world-class football and is quite simply the most complete midfielder in the game - ticking every box physically, mentally and technically. He guarantees a big spike in commercial revenue through shirt sales and is a safe investment given his age and talent.
Paris Saint-Germain are the third club who are happy to break the bank for Pogba. The Ligue 1 champions lodged an informal €80m bid back in April and have offered the midfielder €12m (£8.53m) a year in wages.
Pogba recently met PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in Monaco, although Juventus insist it was just a casual encounter. Al-Khelaifi is desperate to bring Champions League glory to the Parc des Princes, having failed to make a mark on the competition despite the club’s domestic dominance. He also recognises what an asset Pogba will be for the club’s image – France’s biggest star leading France’s best club.
However, Pogba is understood to be against returning to his homeland as he feels that Ligue 1 is not of a high enough quality to satisfy his demands for top-level football.
The interest of long-term admirers Real Madrid has cooled a touch recently. Until a few months ago, the Blancos were regarded as the favourites for the Frenchman – with club legend and Castilla coach Zinedine Zidane regularly praising his countryman in the press.
Madrid are in the market for a combative central midfielder this summer and Pogba would fit the bill, but the club has a troubled relationship with Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, which makes any deal difficult.
“Real Madrid are a club that is used to buying players like you buy a facecloth - and then throws them away like a facecloth,” Raiola remarked in March, comments that didn’t go down well in the Spanish capital.
Elsewhere, Chelsea and Manchester United continue to monitor developments. Chelsea maintain an interest in Pogba but seem to have prioritised the signing of a striker in Radamel Falcao, while they have recently been heavily linked to Arda Turan, though that's not to say they couldn't bring all three in given their transfer strategy of recent seasons.
Manchester United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward would undoubtedly be interested in signing a player as high profile as Pogba but he's unlikely to want to return to Old Trafford given the circumstances surrounding his exit.
All in all, Barcelona remain in the box seat for Pogba despite their rejected offer this week. They are greatly admired by the Frenchman, while the club’s transfer ban has indirectly helped them as Juventus are against selling the player until 2016
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