Manchester United signed Paul Pogba on the cheap, according to his agent Mino Raiola, who claims he should have cost around €100 million more.
United made the France international the world's most expensive footballer in 2016, paying £89m (€105m) to recruit the midfielder from Serie A giants Juventus.
Pogba's fee was ultimately eclipsed by Neymar's €222m move to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona, but Raiola insists that the France international should have cost even more.
Indeed, he maintains that Pogba's contract involved a clause allowing him to choose his next destination, as opposed to Juve, and that he had his heart set on a return to the club he initially left in 2012.
“As long as the television rights keep going up, the players deserve to be paid more," Raiola told Dutch magazine Quote .
“I don’t push prices over the limit. On the contrary, look at Pogba’s transfer. Manchester United paid €100m – but I think they should have paid €200m.
“Pogba was a cheap player. He had a clause in his contract that said he alone – and not Juventus - was allowed to decide where he was going to play next season.
“They couldn’t decide for him. The player must always stay in control. Juventus could have sold him for €200m to Real Madrid – so Manchester United actually saved themselves €100m.”
Juventus suggested that Raiola earned roughly €27m from the deal , with the super-agent one of the highest paid in football, boasting a client list also including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who recently joined LA Galaxy after his contract was cancelled by United.
Pogba, 25, has struggled to find form under Jose Mourinho this season and was left on the bench as the Red Devils beat Brighton in the FA Cup.
Reports have even suggested that Pogba may be sold this summer to fund a major revamp of United's squad, and it remains to be seen if Raiola's prediction regarding Pogba's price will come true.
Goal understands that United are in the market for a central defender, a left-back and a central midfielder, with such stars as Raphael Varane, Toni Kroos and Alex Sandro mooted as potential targets.