Will Man United’s Paul Pogba take 35% salary cut to join FC Barcelona?

Recent speculations linking Marcus Rashford to a move to Camp Nou, for example, appear a little far-fetched.

A player under contract with a market worth of £71 million (source: transfermarkt.com) and a weekly wage of £200,000 (source: spotrac.com) is clearly beyond Blaugrana’s current capabilities.

However, Paul Pogba is a different story, especially now that Barça has agreed to a sponsorship deal with Spotify, which will help with the financial strain.

‘Barcelona’s initial interest had cooled because they believed they would be unable to match the former Juventus man’s personal demands,’ according to The Daily Star.

‘However, last week’s massive sponsorship contract with Spotify, worth an estimated £235 million over four years, has radically transformed the financial scenario at Camp Nou.

‘This means they can now enter the competition — and devise a package to get Pogba to join the ongoing Xavi revolution.’

‘Barcelona have informed Pogba’s super-agent Mino Raiola that they will be interested in signing him in June.’

Pogba appears to want to play for a big club and would welcome the challenge of La Liga. The Catalans’ mutual interest appears to be fairly guaranteed. It is also unquestionably true that the Spotify contract will alleviate some of their financial pressure.

However, there is still the matter of La Liga’s pay ceiling restrictions and Pogba’s weekly salary of £250,000.

This season, Barça’s salary cap was reduced from €675 million to €97 million. The club was forced to let Lionel Messi go because to the capping.

This season, La Liga has imposed a €144 million expenditure cap on Barcelona. Spotify’s annual investment of around £60 million will be a drop in the bucket compared to the total debt of £1.16 billion.

Even if the spending cap for next season is increased, the club will need to sell players before it can buy.

Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti, Neto, Clement Lenglet, and Sergino Dest are all set to leave the club.

Because of the scenario, the club is actively seeking free agents, which is where Pogba comes in. However, his compensation is a major issue.

President Joan Laporta has set a salary cap of €10 million per year for new recruits. At the current exchange rate, the 29-year-weekly old’s salary of £250,000 equates to €15.4 million.

This disparity might be bridged through the payment of variables and bonuses, but Pogba would have to take a 35% pay cut from his present basic wage at United in order to join Barcelona.

Pogba’s other main suitor, Juventus, has a similar problem, as the salary cap is much lower (now €171,000 per week (about €8.89 per year)).

The Frenchman’s two options are to sign the new agreement on offer at United (the value of which is unknown but is expected to be equal to or greater than his present deal) or maybe to sign with Paris Saint-Germain, who are said to be keen and have no problem matching his wage.