A Manchester United legend recounts how Real Madrid missed out on a World Cup-winning midfielder in 2016.

France has produced some outstanding midfielders throughout the years, and Real Madrid has been fortunate to have the services of a few of them.

Even with today's team, the foundation of Los Blancos' midfield is primarily French, thanks to Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga. That number, however, could have been higher, according to an update from The Overlap podcast.

While N'Golo Kante, Adrien Rabiot, and Warren Zaire-Emery, along with the Real Madrid stars, represent a distinct generation of French midfielders, Paul Pogba is one of his compatriots who deserves to be included on the list.

A bout of insanity and a failing drug test, however, appear to have cost him the rest of his professional career.

Pobga was close to Real Madrid.

Former French player and Manchester United veteran Patrice Evra stated in a recent podcast that Pogba was close to signing for Real Madrid at one time in his career.

"Paul (Pogba) wanted to move to Real Madrid." Florentino Perez stated, 'We can't offer you the same money. [His agent] Raiola picked up the phone and contacted Manchester United.

The timeframe in issue is undoubtedly the summer of 2016, when Pogba was looking to leave Juventus after more than five years.

Negotiations over his future continued into August, with a multitude of clubs interested in acquiring him. Real Madrid was Pogba's top desire, but his representative, Mino Raiola, was more concerned with negotiating the best financial offer for his client.

In the end, he signed for Manchester United for €105 million, although his career did not take off at the English club. While he was a mainstay for the Red Devils, inconsistency and frequent injuries plagued his time at Old Trafford.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner returned to Juventus on a free transfer in the summer of 2022, but earned a doping ban after testing positive for DHEA.

Pogba made his last professional appearance in September 2023, and he is currently banned for the next three years. Already 31, the player may never be able to return to the field at his top performance again.

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