Real Madrid seem to be facing an uphill battle in their pursuit to sign Paul Pogba from Manchester United with just nine days remaining until the English transfer deadline.
The Blancos appear more in need of Pogba than ever following the humiliation of their 7-3 pre-season defeat to neighbours Atletico at the weekend, but the bad news for them is that they may have left it too late to persuade United to part ways with the World Cup-winning midfielder.
United have been adamant throughout the summer window that they expected Pogba to remain their player into the 2019-20 season, and are believed to have privately put a price-tag of around £160 million ($194m) on their former world-record capture.