Juventus to save $35 million if they offload Pogba to Saudi Arabia
Juventus could be set to save a significant amount of money should they offload Paul Pogba this summer.
The France international re-joined the Serie A club last summer from Manchester United as a free agent. However, various injuries forced the midfielder to the sidelines for the majority of the 2022/23 season.
Pogba made just 10 total appearances during the campaign because of these setbacks.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Pogba currently rakes in around $8.7 million annually to play for the Bianconeri. Taking into account his injury-hit campaign, this essentially worked out to about $876,000 each match and $54,000 per minute played on the pitch last season.
In total, and including taxes, Juve are shelling out around $11.4 million annually to pay Pogba. Assuming he finishes out his four-year contract with the club, the Old Lady will have to pay nearly $35 million to have Pogba in their squad up until the summer of 2026. Bonuses could even force this fee to rise even higher as well.
Pogba could make even more money in the Middle East
The World Cup winner is currently being courted by the Saudi Pro League. One of the Saudi Public Investment Fund owned teams, Al-Ittihad. want to sign him. This is the same club that has recently signed fellow French teammates Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante.
The Saudi club are also reportedly offering Pogba a pay raise as well. In fact, Mail Sport claims that Al-Ittihad has attempted to tempt the player away from Italy with a three-year deal worth up to $110 million.
This would average out to over $36 million per season to play for the Saudi side.
Frenchman not the only star to potentially depart Juve
Pogba also may not be the only high-profile star to depart Juve this summer. The club is experiencing financial troubles and will not take part in European competition next season due to a previous points deduction.
Although Pogba is making serious money at Juve, he is only the fifth-highest earner at the club according to Capology.
Along with the Frenchman, the Old Lady could also sell star striker Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa. Both players would raise significant funds through transfer fees, as well as offloading their hefty contracts. In fact, selling the duo would save Juventus over $58 million in salary alone.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Nicolo Campo