Pep Guardiola’s ‘secret Paul Pogba meeting’ saw Man Utd star snub City for two key reasons

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Paul Pogba is understood to have met with Pep Guardiola to discuss the prospect of moving to Manchester City this summer, reports have claimed. Manchester United have now confirmed the Frenchman will be departing Old Trafford upon the expiry of his contract in June with Juventus now ahead of Paris Saint-Germain in the race for his services.

Yet the two European giants were not the only interested parties when it became clear Pogba was leaving United.

Noisy neighbours Manchester City were also open to exploring a deal but the move never truly got off the ground.

According to The Athletic, City boss Guardiola linked up with Pogba in private to discuss the prospect of a controversial move across town to the Premier League champions.

Yet despite positive discussions, the World Cup winner was conscious of the media reception he would receive if he followed in the footsteps of Carlos Tevez, by crossing the divide.

Another decisive factor that saw Pogba snub a move to City was the burglary of his house in March when he was playing for United in the Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.

His children were in the house at the time with their nanny but the scare was traumatising for the entire family.

It eventually pushed Pogba towards the exit door with the midfielder feeling like a change of scenery was required.

Now Pogba is expected to sign with his former side Juventus after his exit was confirmed by United on Wednesday.

Posting on Instagram, his goodbye message was short and sweet: “I feel privileged to have played for this club. Many beautiful moments and memories but most importantly unconditional support from the fans. Thank you @manchesterunited!”

Pogba failed to live up to expectations during his six-year second spell back at Manchester United following his club-record £89million move from Juventus in the summer of 2016.

His final season at Old Trafford reflected his struggles with his form hampered by a number of injury problems.

He started the campaign like a house on fire, registering seven assists in his first four Premier League outings, including four on the opening day of the season against Leeds.

But the star performances would soon fade and a thigh injury – picked up while on international duty with France – would see Pogba miss a significant chunk of the season.

His United career would reach a new low in mid-April when he was booed off by his own supporters in the 3-2 win over Norwich.

Three days later, he would make his final bow in United red, hobbling off after a matter of minutes in the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

Pogba was once again jeered by United supporters as he left the field of play.

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