Sky Sports exclusive: Pogba's agent says "we are open for talks" on a new deal with Man United
Wednesday 19 February 2020 11:09, UK
Mino Raiola plans to "reach out" to Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, insisting there is no bad blood between the pair following comments made about Paul Pogba by the agent.
Raiola, who represents the midfielder, took to social media on Monday stating Pogba is neither his nor Solskjaer's "property" after the United boss had previously said: "Paul is our player and not Mino's."
Solskjaer was asked about Raiola's comments in his post-match news conference after United's 2-0 win at Chelsea on Monday, but said he "probably won't" speak to either Pogba or Raiola about the situation.
"I don't have to comment through the media on Mino and what he has to say, I can probably speak to him myself but I probably won't," Solskjaer exclusively told Sky Sports.
Asked if he has had any contact with Solskjaer or United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward since his post on Monday, Raiola told Sky Sports News: "No, but I will reach out to Ole because nothing serious is going on. I certainly did not intend to have any disrespect to the club or towards him.
"Having players at Manchester United, I only want the best for the team and the club.
"I have nothing against Ole and I don't think he has anything against me.
"I did only think that saying Paul is Manchester United's was not the right reaction.
"I only wanted to respond to everyone who said that because you employ a player therefore you own them and can do whatever you want with them."
Pogba continues to be linked with a move away from Old Trafford and Raiola has previously suggested the 26-year-old could move back to Italy in the future.
"Paul has great commitment to the club, there is no question about that," Raiola said.
"Paul has a contract with Manchester United and wants to get back fit as quick as possible and back into the team to be a positive factor until the end of the season.
"In this moment, there are no talks [over Pogba's future]. He is only committed to Manchester United and he respects his contract. Everybody is worried about Pogba leaving, but I am not worried."
Asked if Pogba would be open to talks over a new deal at Old Trafford, Raiola said: "We are open for talks after he gets back [from injury]. For now, there is a contract and the only thing he is focused on is getting back to fitness.
"When an agent represents any player, of course there will be talks about how to move on or move forward if you are still part of the plans for the manager, there is nothing strange about that.
"I thought my interview was very innocent when I said: 'maybe one day he will return [to Italy] because it is like a second home' but I didn't say he would come back next year or the year after. You never know if he will come back or not.
"For this kind of player, there can't be a lot of interest because not a lot of clubs can afford him. There are no talks with any clubs at the moment."
Raiola has also clarified what he meant in his statement when saying Solskjaer has more to worry about than Pogba.
"For the club, getting Champions League is more important," Raiola said. "This again was taken out of context and has been made bigger than it should be.
"I wasn't aware that Manchester United had a game so it wasn't on purpose that I put that out before the game and maybe it wasn't the best timing.
"My words were taken out of context and it was maybe not the right platform to discuss this."
![Supor agent Mino Raiola speaks to Sky Sports News at meeting of the Association of Football Agents [AFA] at Barnet’s stadium, The Hive.](https://e0.365dm.com/20/01/768x432/skysports-mino-raiola-super-agent_4899442.jpg?20200122230121)
