Juventus not thinking of signing Paul Pogba from Manchester United, insists Fabio Paratici

The France international has been heavily linked with leaving Old Trafford after falling out with Jose Mourinho

Juventus are not thinking of a bid to sign Paul Pogba from Manchester United despite sporting director Fabio Paratici admitting “we love him very much”.

Pogba’s future at Old Trafford is the subject of intense speculation after months of escalating public tensions with United manager Jose Mourinho, who stripped him of the vice-captaincy in September for making comments critical of the team’s tactical approach in a 1-1 home draw with Wolves.

Barcelona have been widely reported as Pogba’s most likely suitor if he were to leave United, but a return to Juventus – the club where he made his senior breakthrough, won four Serie A titles and reached the 2015 Champions League final before moving to Old Trafford for a then-world-record fee of £89 million in the summer of 2016 – could also hold some appeal.

Paratici, however, played down the possibility. “We love him very much,” he said of Pogba. “We want him to do well since we are close to him but he isn't a Juve player anymore. We're connected to him, but we've never thought about it and we're not going to think about it.”

The Independent reported on Monday that United have contacted Paratici about the possibility of reuniting him with Pogba at Old Trafford, as executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward pushes ahead with plans to implement a full technical staff and more modern continental decision-making structure at the club.

Pogba's future at Old Trafford is far from certain (REUTERS)

Former Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta has also been sounded out, but Paratici has recently renewed his contract with the Italian champions and is minded to stay loyal to the successful project he has played a key part in building in Turin.

Juventus pulled off the transfer coup of the summer by prising Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid in a £99.2m deal, and Paratici revealed that the Portuguese superstar’s proactive interest in pushing through a move to the Italian champions played a key part in getting the deal over the line.

“We talked about it initially, and straight away we got the feeling he wanted to join us, which was a huge advantage,” Paratici added. “Real Madrid had a gentleman's agreement with him, the ownership kicked things off and negotiations began.”

Paratici also reiterated that Ronaldo retains the full backing of Juventus as he faces an historic allegation of rape in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009 – one which he vehemently denies.

“Cristiano is a very simple person and an excellent professional, he has all our support,” the Juventus sporting director said.