Man Utd news: Luis Suarez makes Paul Pogba to Barcelona transfer claim

Posted Thursday, September 06, 2018 by Express.co.uk

Man Utd news: Luis Suarez makes Paul Pogba to Barcelona transfer claim
Paul Pogba has struggled this season for Manchester United (Image: GETTY)

PAUL POGBA would like to be battling on more fronts than he currently does for Manchester United - and would be welcome at Barcelona.

That's the view of Barcelona star Luis Suarez who believes the Frenchman would be a hit at the Nou Camp.

Pogba has struggled at United since returning to Old Trafford from Juventus in 2016 with there being plenty of talk regarding his future over the summer.

Barca, Juventus and PSG were all believed to be interested but the midfielder stayed put and was even named captain by Jose Mourinho for the opening two games of the Premier League season.

United have already suffered two defeats this campaign and are not expected to fight for the title with Liverpool tipped to be Manchester City's closest rivals.

United are also unlikely to be in the running for the Champions League crown and Suarez believes Pogba would want to be more competitive having won the World Cup this summer.

"He [Pogba] is a part of the elite and has a lot of quality," Suarez told RAC1.

"I think he would like to compete for more than he is now. He is not a player that belongs to Barca, but quality players would always be welcome."

Pogba was the subject of a cheeky £45m bid from Barcelona that included Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes – who have since joined Everton - in the deal.

The Frenchman has struggled for fitness at the start of the season and come in for plenty of criticism.

Though Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel, who helped the Red Devils to the treble in 1999, believes Pogba just needs a rest.

He told talkSPORT: "Paul's come back from the World Cup having won it, he's come back very early and it's really difficult.

"I've obviously never been all the way to the final but I went to the quarter-final and to come back with very little break, very little holiday after you've been on this incredible high – you find yourself in this state that's been going on for three or four weeks and then it's gone.

"You completely deflate and to inflate yourself again it just takes time.

"Unfortunately, the football calendar is such that even the guys all the way to the final won't have much of a break.

"Hopefully later on in the season there is an opportunity to give those players just a little bit of a breather – it is so difficult, honestly.

"Your mind is somewhere else, you look at the 11 months ahead of you and think, 'This is the steepest mountain' and at some point you need to just get away from it. Hopefully he will get that."