Zinedine Zidane refuses to reveal details of ‘chance’ meeting with Man Utd midfielder Paul Pogba
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has claimed his meeting with Paul Pogba during the international break was ‘complete chance’ and that their conversation is ‘private’.
Pogba, who spent the break in rehabilitation for an injury, was pictured with Zidane on a beach in Dubai.
Does Pogba want to join Real Madrid? Five things to know…
- It was reported that Pogba was a target for Los Blancos in their summer overhaul.
- In March, the midfielder said it would be ‘a dream for anyone’ to play under Zidane…
- …before expressing his desire for a ‘new challenge’ in the summer.
- Real Madrid reportedly did not make a formal approach for Pogba in the summer.
- And it is claimed by Marca they are now considering a move for Christian Eriksen, whose contract expires next summer.
United fans will have been slightly concerned when they saw the images of their star man on a beach with the manager of Real Madrid last week.
The Frenchman didn’t join up with France due to an injury and had travelled to the Far East to continue his rehabilitation in the hope of being fit for tomorrow’s clash with Liverpool. However, he has failed to make it in time.
Zidane was quizzed on the meeting in a press conference on Friday and was quick to dismiss any assumptions that some had made upon seeing the images.
He said: “It was complete chance. I was there and he was too.
“Since we know one another, we spoke to each other. I’m not going to tell you what we talked about; that’s private.
“We’ve known each other for a long time. We bumped into each other, and we stopped and talked.”
The exact details of their conversation will remain a mystery, but Pogba may be hoping that the encounter could reignite his chances of moving to the Spanish capital.
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“Here we go with the picture!”
During Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s press conference, it was evident that he expected questions regarding the images.
When asked, he said: “Here we go with the picture!
“I’ve not heard Paul Pogba say he doesn’t want to be here. Paul wants to stay here and play well.
“Paul is part of our plan going forward. He has been playing through the pain barrier. He has been criticised left, right and centre, but when he came back against Rochdale and Arsenal he could’ve easily not played.
“He wanted to play, he wanted to try to get back and it was too painful. He’s had a scan, he’s on the way back and he’s been on a few days off, working but he is away from here.
“Then there is a picture and being at Manchester United you do get pictures and speculation – but I don’t have any problem with that at all.”
