New York: Following media reports that Paul Pogba was just “a matter of hours” away from joining Manchester United, the Juventus midfielder instead told Italian Football on Wednesday TV that “yeah”, he would be staying with the Old Lady of Turin.
Manchester United have been chasing the midfielder all summer, with a 100 million pound (Dh486.4 million) move back to Old Trafford widely expected, the Daily Mirror reported.
However, Pogba has dramatically dampened speculation he could be on his way to Jose Mourinho’s men.
The 23-year-old, who is on holiday in the US after Euro 2016, has said he will remain with the Serie A champions instead.
Supporters from the IFTV channel waited for Pogba outside his hotel, where he was asked if he will stay at Juventus.
The Frenchman, who signed a Juventus ball, replied: “Yeah.”
Pogba is keeping up his fitness in New York as speculation continues over his future.
He arrived in the Big Apple on Tuesday on what is the final stop in his summer vacation.
His presence in New York led to speculation Real Madrid could be about to gazump the Red Devils.
Zinedine Zidane’s side play Bayern Munich at the MetLife Stadium on Wednesday.
Pogba uploaded a video to his Instagram account on Tuesday as he maintained his fitness levels with some combat sports.
The midfielder’s post was captioned: “Afternoon sweat #newyork #combat.”
Earlier this week, Pogba responded with the words “We’ll see” to a Sky Sports News reporter when asked about the probable move to Manchester United.
Pogba, then 19, departed United in 2012 for next to nothing after refusing the offer of a new contract because he had grown frustrated by a lack of first-team opportunities at the club.
In the years since, the midfielder has matured into one of the most wanted players in world football.
He has helped the Bianconeri to four successive Serie A titles, while also being named Best Young Player at the 2014 World Cup.
United received just 800,000 pounds in compensation for Pogba, who spent three years with the club after signing from French club Le Havre.
In his book ‘Leading,’ Sir Alex Ferguson, the former United boss revealed why he couldn’t keep hold of Pogba – placing the blame firmly at the feet of his agent, Mino Raiola.
“There are one or two football agents I simply do not like, and Mino Raiola, Paul Pogba’s agent is one of them,” said Ferguson who wrote the book with Michael Moritz.
“I distrusted him from the moment I met him. He became Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s agent while he was playing for Ajax, and eventually he would end up representing Pogba, who was only 18-years-old at the time.
“We had Paul under a three-year contract, and it had a one-year renewal option, which we were eager to sign. But Raiola suddenly appeared on the scene and our first meeting was a fiasco.
“He and I were like oil and water. From then on, our goose was cooked because Raiola had been able to ingratiate himself with Paul and his family and the player signed with Juventus.”
