Marotta: Juve close to Pogba signing

Posted Friday, May 25, 2012 by ESPN

Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has claimed the club will soon complete the signing of Manchester United's Paul Pogba.

Juventus' interest in the Manchester United youth player has been intensely covered in the media since the turn of the year. Despite having been offered a new deal by the Red Devils, Pogba has yet to put pen to paper and commit his future to the club. Marotta shared with Corriere dello Sport that the French midfielder has agreed to terms with the Bianconeri, and the club are waiting for United to sanction the transfer.

"We have lured [Pogba] away from Manchester United, we respected the rules," he stated.

"Pogba, for his own reasons, didn't intend to renew [his contract with United]. We informed the club and we are now waitinig for an answer. Talks are well advanced."

The Italian also put to bed rumours linking Juventus to Manchester City's Mario Balotelli and Napoli's Edison Cavani. Marotta hinted that it was Balotelli's character and off-the-field controversies that cooled the club's interest in him, while Napoli's asking price for Cavani was too high.

"We have never thought about Balotelli. He doesn't fit the profile we are looking at, a profile which isn't based solely on technical ability," he said.

"Cavani? You always have to consider the wishes of the clubs which own the players."

Although the director admitted the Bianconeri are still looking to bring in other players to strengthen their title-winning squad, he does not believe the team will be able to compete effectively in the transfer market because of how much the financial situation has improved at other clubs.

"Italian football used to be the point of reference when it comes to financial matters. That's not the case anymore. The market is dominated by clubs such as Manchester City, who can invest millions and millions," Marotta stated.

"The Italian clubs that used to invest heavily can no longer spend that much. We can no longer compete with the other big European clubs."

However, Marotta remains hopeful Juventus can remain competitive on the field by building a team rooted in their club culture and values.

"Juve cannot be market leaders in the current situation. We can only try and reduce the gap through good organisation, and with our football culture," he shared.

Juventus were crowned champions of Serie A after an unbeaten campaign.