Paul Pogba seeking biggest contract in Manchester United history to stay at Old Trafford - report

World Cup-winning midfielder Paul Pogba is looking to double his wages at underperforming Manchester United to a staggering $36 million per year to ward off interest from La Liga and Serie A, according to reports from Italy.

Pogba was strongly linked with a transfer to Real Madrid during the summer as part of Zinedine Zidane's rebuild of the Spanish giants, but United refused to sign off on the departure of their prized asset. But their resolve may soon be tested by the Frenchman's salary requests, according to a report from Italian publication Tuttosport.

The former Juventus man is already among the top earners at Old Trafford, but the report from the Italian sports periodical states that Pogba is looking to double his wages from a reported $368,000 per week to $737,000 per week, a sum that would make him one of the highest-paid players in the game.

This would almost certainly collapse the Manchester United wage structure as the club looks to address its continued below-par performance under boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 

Real Madrid, along with Pogba's former club Juventus, are understood to have retained an interest in the player despite being put off by Manchester United's quoted price for him during the summer, but repeated comments from Pogba in the last several months appear to suggest that he would be open to a move away from Old Trafford. 

He currently has two years left on his contract, with the option for a further one-year extension, but rumors of his wage demands could lead to renewed interest from Pogba's suitors once the English transfer window opens at the start of January. 

An ankle injury means that Pogba is a doubt for Monday's crunch fixture with Arsenal, with Solskjaer's side stumbling recently while the Frenchman has been absent from the starting team. Manchester United currently sit in 11th position in the Premier League, level on points with newcomers Sheffield United.