Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has finally revealed why his club lost out in the chase for Paul Pogba in the summer of 2016.

The 26-year-old, who is under contract at Old Trafford until 2021, joined United from Juventus at that time in a €95m deal – then a world record deal.

Bartomeu claimed the Catalan club ‘couldn’t afford’ the cost of signing the Frenchman.

“In the summer of 2015, Paul Pogba was playing in Turin and we simply asked Juve if one day they decide to sell the player, we will be interested,” Bartomeu told an interview with ESPN.

“When they sold the player, they told us what the offer would have to be and we couldn’t afford that amount of money at the time because of how much it was.

“So, he went to United. And he’s making them better as a team because he’s one of the stars of the world of football right now.”