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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho opens up on Paul Pogba transfer
MANCHESTER UNITED boss Jose Mourinho has admitted convincing Paul Pogba to return to Old Trafford was ‘difficult’.
Paul Pogba shows off new snake haircut
Pogba sealed a sensational move back to the club last month for a world-record £89million transfer fee from Serie A giants Juventus.
The France international had previously left United four years ago under Sir Alex Ferguson, but is now back for another crack at life in the Premier League.
And Mourinho has shed some light on his return, admitting luring Pogba back was made difficult by interest from another top European club.
I think he was getting one in the morning from the manager from another big club and one in the afternoon from myself
"Oh! It was hard to convince him," Mourinho told Goal.
"I had many [conversations] on the phone, lots of SMS.
"I think he was getting one in the morning from the manager from another big club and one in the afternoon from myself.
“I had to try hard to convince him to choose us instead of the other one."
Jose Mourinho has revealed re-signing Paul Pogba was far from straightforward
Express Sport previously revealed that Real Madrid were also in the running for his signature.
The La Liga giants made a late bid to snatch Pogba from under United’s noses but left it too late to land their man.
United, meanwhile, will begin life in the Europa League on Thursday when they face Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
But Mourinho is targeting a swift return to the Champions League after the club finished fifth under old boss Louis van Gaal last season.
"The Champions League without Manchester United is not the Champions League and Manchester United without the Champions League is not Manchester United,” he added.
"So this is the first big step.
"But to get back to the Champions League we need to do well in the Premier League, so the first step is to recover the self-esteem, which I think we are doing."
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