Barcelona 'cannot afford to sign Paul Pogba from Manchester United'

Barcelona have reportedly been ruled out of the race for Paul Pogba as they have no room in their budget to sign the Manchester United midfielder.

The Spanish champions, along with Paris Saint-Germain and former club Juventus, are believed to have shown an interest in the France international following his latest falling out with manager Jose Mourinho.

Speaking on Tuesday evening, Barca boss Ernesto Valverde refused to rule out the possibility of his side making a move for the 25-year-old when the transfer window reopens in January.

According to The Telegraph, though, the Catalan giants cannot afford Pogba in the next 12 months as they already have a projected wage bill of £564m for this season.

On top of his hefty wages, Pogba would likely cost close to £150m to sign, meaning that Barcelona cannot justify bringing him to the club and ending his Man United nightmare.

However, the same report indicates that money could potentially be freed up with the sale of a star name already in Valverde's squad, depending on how keen president Josep Maria Bartomeu is on signing the World Cup winner.