Manchester United team-mates expect Pogba to leave (Times)

Paul Pogba’s Manchester United team-mates are convinced that the French midfielder will leave the club in the summer.

Pogba, who is out of action for four weeks with an ankle injury, has 18 months left on his contract, but the feeling inside the dressing room is that he will not be at the club next season.

United have become dismayed by the conduct of Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, who claimed that the club would “ruin” even some of the best players of all time.

The United hierarchy suspect that Raiola is trying to engineer a move away from Old Trafford for his star client. Pogba would like to move to Real Madrid, where Zinedine Zidane, one of his idols, is in charge.

It would take a huge fee, of about £150 million, for Pogba to be allowed to leave. United can extend his deal by 12 months in a year’s time.

Pogba has not started for United since their draw at home to Arsenal in September. He came off the bench against Watford and Newcastle United last month, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed on Wednesday that Pogba required another operation, based partly on the advice of the independent medical consultant he uses. United insist that they conducted the scans on Pogba and agreed with the player and his advisers that an operation was necessary.