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Arsene Wenger labels Pogba fee as “completely crazy”

France's Paul Pogba shoots over (REUTERS)
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Arsenal’s manager gives his view on Paul Pogba’s reported move to Manchester United.

Picture Supplied by Action Images - Paul Pogba

Manchester United have been heavily linked with a £100 million switch for Paul Pogba, and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger told ESPN that the figures involved are “completely crazy”.

According to The Telegraph, Manchester United are on the brink of paying a world-record transfer fee for the 23-year-old, who joined Juventus on a Bosman from the Red Devils back in 2012.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Gerard Houllier in the stands

His agent, Mino Raiola, denied on Twitter this week that a deal had been struck, but those are the figures that have been reported by English, Italian and French media.

And the notoriously-frugal Arsenal boss feels that the it is simply madness for a club to be paying out nine-figure transfer fees, if the club in question cannot afford it.

“It is completely crazy if you cannot afford to pay it. If you can afford to pay it you can justify it,” the Arsenal boss, who has a degree in economics, said to ESPN.

“It is completely crazy if you compare it to normal life. That is for sure. But we live in a world where every activity that is worldwide makes a lot of money.”

Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic

United boss Jose Mourinho has spent £56 million on two players this summer – defender Eric Bailly (£30m) and winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£26m).

But the Bosman signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic will also cost the club millions on signing-on fees and wages.

France's Paul Pogba during trainingFrance’s Paul Pogba during training