Former Manchester United player Owen Hargreaves has had a few things to say concerning the 24 year old midfielder Paul Pogba who became the most expensive football signing ever after completing his move from Juventus over to Manchester United on August of 2016 for a transfer fee of £89 million.

After Paul Pogba´s transfer to Manchester United was done, expectations were high for the French player as supporters of the club and of the player himself wanted to see him showcasing his skills as well as proving why the Premier League club decided to splash out so much cash in a performer.

Unfortunately, those expectations were not met as Paul Pogba was a regular starter but he could not really shine as his performances were average at best. There wasn´t anything really game-changing from the French player who became the most expensive signing in the history of the sport.

During Pogba´s debut season in Old Trafford, he managed to make 30 appearances where the French player scored 5 goals and provided his teammates with 4 assists.
Owen Hargreaves has emerged and defended Paul Pogba as the former Manchester United player said that Pogba is being unfairly judged.

¨People are judging the price-tag, people are judging the haircuts and all these other flash things they see but you look at his stats over the last four seasons: 10 goals and 10 assists, this is what you get, and he’s on track for that¨

“The whole point is he went from a great Juventus team with Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo and he was one player in a great group of players but now, because of the price-tag, he is the focal point, 10 goals and 10 assists, that’s him but he’s going to have to step that up a little bit because the price-tag is so high and the team will expect more from him¨ Owen Hargreaves said.

The current pundit for BT Sport, Hargreaves continues on saying that Pogba indeed has what it takes to become a world-class player but he needs time to properly establish himself in Manchester United.

Simone Pepe has been performing with the Real Madrid jersey since July 10 of 2007, which was the date when the Portuguese defender signed with the Spanish titans for a transfer fee of €30 million.

Ever since then, Pepe has been a fairly regular starter as he has played a significant role for Real Madrid in just about every single season but after 10 years, it seems like Pepe´s time in the Santiago Bernabeu might be reaching it´s end.

The contract of Pepe expires in the summer of 2017 and there are rumors going on claiming that he could be joining another club. Pepe is 34 years old and even though he continues playing at a high level, age is a factor that takes its toll on anyone.

Zinedine Zidane recently talked about Pepe´s current situation as well as the future of the veteran defender and the French manager said: “Pepe’s career has been spectacular. It’s been 10 years where he’s done fantastic things, but with this I’m not telling you what is going to happen next year because I do not know´´

When the player himself was asked about his near future at the Santiago Bernabeu, Pepe was unsure as the Portuguese player replied by saying: ´´My future? As we have a Champions League final around the corner it would be disrespectful to talk about that´´

“The club has more important things to think about at the moment. I’ll wait until the last minute to see what happens. A part of my heart will always be Madridista´´

There have even been rumors emerging linking potential defenders who might be able to replace Pepe in case he does leave during this summer; one of the players that has recently been linked is Jerome Boateng of Bayern Munich.

Real Madrid defender Pepe has claimed that he is ready to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu beyond the end of the season.

The defender is out of contract in the summer, and he has reportedly not been offered a new deal just yet. The club are clearly taking their time about retaining the player, who is 34 years old. Despite his concerns about the age, Pepe has been a regular first-team player for the club. He has been at Madrid since 2007 after having joined from FC Porto. Over the years, he has won the league title, two Champions League trophies, two FIFA Club World Cup medals, and several other trophies.

The defender once again proved his worth to the team by scoring the opening goal in the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid during the weekend. The player also fractured two ribs in the process and will now be out for a considerable period of time.

President Florentino Perez has revealed that the external the contribution of Pepe has been clear for everyone to see. He says that Pepe is an example for all players on and off the field. Even though Real Madrid defender Nacho has been only playing with Pepe in recent years, he says that the Portuguese defender has been a huge influence on his career.

“Until June 30 I am under contract at Real Madrid. As I’ve said before, I will wait for Madrid until the last second, and I will make sacrifices every day to be able to stay here,” said Pepe about his future.”Pepe is an example both on and off the field — he carries Real Madrid in his heart.He has won every trophy there is to win twice during his 10 years at the club: two Champions Leagues, two Leagues, two Club World Cups,” said Perez.

Pepe may just be another soccer star from Europe to migrate to China to pile up the cash in his bank account.

The association of Pepe and Real Madrid does not seem to be going to last much longer and there is every possibility of the defender to take the exit door this winter.

The problem is the contract of Pepe which needs an extension for him to remain at Bernabeu.

While, Madrid is hell bent on a 12-month extension only and not more than that, the player is pretty rigid about the fact that he will not accept a shorter extension than 24 months and because of the firm stance of both sides, it’s looking like a certain separation.

It’s been understood that Madrid had conveyed to Pepe that they would like to keep him for two seasons if that’s what he wants, but, for the time being, they would prefer the extension to be for one season only and then if his form remained decent enough, he would surely get another season’s extension, but, Pepe was not ready for that and turned it down.

Pepe knows that his playing graph is not going upwards now at the age of 34 and that’s why he is looking for some job security for himself. If Madrid can’t provide him that and they want to go ahead with him only on one season at a time basis, then there is no point for him to hang around there because a huge pot of cash is on offer from China anyway.

The reports say that Pepe will be making twice as much a weekly salary as he is making in La Liga at present if he gets himself into the Chinese top flight.