Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene insists today’s meeting with his agent was ‘not about Paul Pogba,’ but rather Moise Kean and Luca Pellegrini. ‘We respect Manchester United.’
The Bianconeri play their final home game of the season against Lazio at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the LIVEBLOG.
The focus however was on another destination in Turin, namely where Juve directors were meeting with Rafaela Pimenta, who has taken over some of the clients that were under agent Mino Raiola before his death last month.
She is now dealing with Pogba’s situation, as his contract with Manchester United expires on June 30, with interest for the free agent from Juventus, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
“Let’s just make one thing clear,” Arrivabene told Sky Sport Italia.
“Pogba is a Manchester United player. We must show respect for him and his squad. Having said that, Pogba’s agents are also the same who represent Kean and Luca Pellegrini, so it’s only normal we should meet with them.
“The subject of today’s meeting was not Pogba. If we wanted to talk to Pogba, we would first need to speak to Manchester United. It’s a gentleman’s agreement between the clubs.”
Along with Pogba, the Old Lady have also been linked with Lazio player Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
“We need the right balance between defence, attack and midfield and we are evaluating these situations.”
Juventus end without silverware for the first time since 2010-11, having lost the Coppa Italia Final to Inter on Wednesday in extra time.
“Considering last season, with fourth place earned on the final day thanks to Napoli’s draw elsewhere, and considering that this year our objective was Champions League qualification, we can say we achieved our target.
“If you don’t win the Scudetto, of course there are regrets, because those trophies are there to be won, but we were also in the middle of a generational shift and naturally that reconstruction takes time.
“Winning is the only thing that matters, today or tomorrow. During a reconstruction phase, reaching the Champions League is a good thing.”