Pogba to Barcelona? Bartomeu gives cryptic response on January bid for Man Utd star

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has stopped short of ruling out a January bid for unsettled Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.

The France international first saw speculation regarding a possible switch to Camp Nou sparked over the summer.

No move was made then, with Jose Mourinho prepared to welcome a World Cup winner back into his ranks.

The working relationship between a high-profile manager and flamboyant midfielder has, however, soured at Old Trafford, leading to more exit talk.

La Liga giants Barcelona would be one of the few sides in world football that could afford to land Pogba were he to be made available.

Bartomeu is ruling nothing out at this stage, telling The Times: "I read these rumours - not just Pogba but a lot of players. Most of the teams don't want to sell their players. They want to grow.

"When you hear from agents that a certain player is on the market - and I am not saying that about this player, but generally - I will sometimes call the CEO and say 'Is it true you want to sell this player?'. Usually they say 'No way, not for sale' and that's the end of it."

This is the second time in the space of two months that Bartomeu has offered a cryptic response to reported interest in Pogba.

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As the summer transfer window prepared to shut, he said of links to the 25-year-old superstar: "We'll see which players come out. We're focused on the league, so it's best to ask [Eric] Abidal, [Ramon] Planes or Pep Segura about players. There's still time to do business."

Barcelona tabled no bids before the deadline passed, but the door has been left open to Pogba at Camp Nou.

Gerard Pique, who was on United’s books as the exciting Frenchman progressed through the Red Devils’ academy system, told reporters amid the summer speculation: "I know very little of what is happening in Manchester, the relationship that exists [between Pogba and Mourinho].

"Pogba is a very good player, but a Manchester United player right now, and we will see in the future if anything happens.

"We would be happy to have him here, but Manchester United is his club and, if someone has to say something, it must be them."