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It's all a matter of status and perspective. We can take the examples of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona. Teams that realized that by signing the hottest player right now would give them an instant hit and get them to win titles. It happened with Los Blancos on the long run after they landed Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer from Manchester United, it also happened back in 2014 when FC Barcelona signed Luis Suarez and they won the Champions League that same season.
With Bayern Munich it may occur now that they have signed Renato Sanches, but the point is that getting the best player on the market gets you titles and status as a team. This status and winning mentality is something that Manchester United has lacked since Alex Ferguson left the club, something that they have now recovered with the arrival of people like Jose Mourinho or Zlatan Ibrahimovic. But getting Paul Pogba would really get them on high gear for the next three seasons at least.
For Rio Ferdinand, getting Pogba is a must. He spoke to the Independent about it: "As a player in the changing room, you've been thinking for so long: 'He's coming, he's coming'. If he doesn't sign it could have an adverse effect mentally on the players in the changing room. For a short period of time at least. It's important they sign him. Of course it isn't [good business] but, listen, when Chelsea sold [Nemanja] Matic and bought him back for €25m-plus it was the same. It's bigger than that but it's still a loss. That's the way it goes.
"When he comes it's just going to be down to the black and white: Will he perform? Will Manchester United win trophies? That's how you get judged. People were saying when I went there that £30m was too much but then we started to win and people now look back and think ‘you know what, it wasn't that expensive’. When you can say you've won six Premier League titles in 12 years, it's okay. If he goes there for £100m and in 10 years he wins five titles and earns £100m worth in shirts sales, you'll say 'well done, good business.'"
Photo credit: Paul Pogba
