Paul Pogba’s desire to leave Manchester United has reportedly seen his relationship with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deteriorate.
According to Le Parisien, the rapport between Pogba and Solskjaer’s is ‘slowly fading’ and the France midfielder wants to join Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid in the summer.
Pogba played the full 90 minutes as United were defeated 1-0 by Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday at Old Trafford.
The France midfielder initially enjoyed a resurgence in form under Solskjaer when he arrived to replace Jose Mourinho on an initial interim basis in December. Pogba scored nine times in Solskjaer’s first 12 matches but hasn’t found the net since United’s 2-0 win at Chelsea in the FA Cup in February.
United are sixth in the Premier League standings, three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham with matches against Manchester City and Chelsea still to come, as well as a trip to Goodison Park to play Everton.
And World Cup winner Pogba, 26, is not prepared to miss out on Champions League football next season.
Speaking while on international duty with France in March about the potential of linking up with Zidane, Pogba told reporters: ‘Like I’ve always said, Real Madrid is a dream for anyone. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“There is also (Zinedine) Zidane as a coach and it’s a dream for anybody who likes football.” Pogba previously clashed with Mourinho, Solskjaer’s predecessor, with the Portuguese boss reportedly calling the player ‘a virus’ in front of the United team after a 2-2 draw against Southampton on December 1.
A little over two weeks later, on December 18, Mourinho was sacked by United after falling 19 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool. The Reds beat United 3-1 in Mourinho’s last game, with Pogba an unused substitute. United play West Ham on Saturday in the Premier League’s late kick-off.
