Pogba stays: Real Madrid rumors refuted as Manchester United trigger Paul Pogba contract extension

French World Cup winner Paul Pogba looks to be staying at Old Trafford despite interest from Real Madrid, as Manchester United triggered a one-year contract extension for the player whose deal was set to expire next summer.

The 27-year-old Pogba, who was a graduate of the Manchester United academy, returned to the Premier League club in 2016 in a world record transfer in 2016 after a spell in Serie A with Juventus but the playmaker has been linked with several big-money transfers in recent months.

Longtime suitors Real Madrid had been linked with a move for the player whose contract status would have allowed him to move on a free transfer next summer, but United have allayed concerns that they might not recoup a transfer fee for the Frenchman after extending his deal to 2022. 

"Paul's our player, he's going to be here for another two years and I'm sure Paul is focused on doing his best for us and we want to see the best of Paul," Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solksjaer said.

"So, in the next couple of years, I'm sure we'll get the best out of him." 

Pogba has been the target of criticism for some of his early performances in the new Premier League season, as well as towards the end of the last, amid chatter that the talismanic creator is a luxury player who has a tendency to go missing in high profile fixtures, particularly after his team's 6-1 home defeat to Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur.

Pogba had sparked speculation that he was to leave for Real Madrid in an interview recently, where he admitted that it would be a "dream" to pull on the white jersey at the Santiago Bernebeu.

"All football players would love to play for Real Madrid," he said. 

"It is a dream for me, why not one day?

"I am in Manchester and I love my club. I am playing in Manchester, I'm having fun and I want to do everything to put the club where it deserves.

"I will give everything to the max, like my team-mates."

The contract extension means that Real Madrid will be compelled to pay a few for the player next season if they pursue a transfer for the player that they have already earmarked a potential future "Galactico."