The Saudi Pro League is reportedly continuing to push Paul Pogba as their signature player for the summer, although the Juventus midfielder is not convinced of the transfer at this stage.
The wealth of the Middle East has attracted a number of high-profile players to move this summer, including four such as Karim Benzema, Ngoro Kante, Roberto Firmino and Ruben Neves. With more stars expected to join in the coming weeks and months, Saudi Arabia is not only looking to improve the quality of the league, but also to establish a real foothold in football ahead of its bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns a controlling stake in Newcastle United, has poured huge sums of money into the country's four major clubs, Al Ittihad, Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli, with the aim of continuing to attract the world's best players.
At the beginning of June, it was exclusively revealed that Pogba is one of the most well-known players that PIF has followed and that is still the case, despite having played only 151 minutes for Juventus last season due to injury problems. The 30-year-old even visited Saudi Arabia over the weekend, and sources confirmed that they were in talks with PIF about a potential move, although he visited Saudi Arabia mainly for external business interests and personal reasons.
As things stand, Pogba would prefer to stay at Juventus to prove himself to manager Massimiliano Allegri, the Italian brought him back to Turin for a second time and has remained loyal to Pogba throughout his career, but the club will not stop him if he expresses his desire to leave.
It is understood that Pogba's future is likely to switch to the Saudi Pro League at some point, with PIF believing that he is the best Muslim player in the world and a cornerstone signing. If he moves, his salary will rise on par with Benzema's annual salary of £172 million at the Etihad.
Once the image is right and the strings are taken into account, this will make Pogba the highest-paid player in the league, and the club he will join will almost certainly be Etihad, making him a team-mate for Benzema and N'Golo Kante, who also joined the team in the title from Chelsea earlier in this window.