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21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 10 AUGUST 2016 FOOTBALL Paul Pogba joins United from Juventus for world record fee FRANCE midfielder Paul Pogba has rejoined Manchester United from Italian champions Juven- tus on a five-year contract, with the option to extend for a further year, the Premier League club said in a statement on Monday. British media said United splashed out a world record fee of €104 million on the 23-year-old, eclipsing the €100 million Real Madrid paid for Welshman Ga- reth Bale from Tottenham Hot- spur in 2013. "I am delighted to rejoin Unit- ed. It has always been a club with a special place in my heart and I am really looking forward to working with (manager) Jose Mourinho," Pogba said in a state- ment on United's official wesbite (www.manutd.com). "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Juventus and have some fantastic memories of a great club with players that I count as friends. But I feel the time is right to go back to Old Trafford. "I always enjoyed playing in front of the fans and can't wait to make my contribution to the team. This is the right club for me to achieve everything I hope to in the game." Pogba is the latest of Mour- inho's new signings following de- fender Eric Bailly, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and midfielder Hen- rikh Mkhitaryan as the Portu- guese coach revamps the under- performing squad he inherited from Louis van Gaal. "Paul is one of the best players in the world and will be a key part of the United team I want to build here for the future," added Mourinho. "He is quick, strong, scores goals and reads the game better than many players much older than he is. Related Coverage "At 23, he has the chance to make that position his own here over many years. He is young and will continue to improve; he has the chance to be at the heart of this club for the next decade and beyond." The France midfielder, whose strength and range of passing should allow United to play a more expansive game than the limited style adopted by Dutch- man Van Gaal, has been a hot property all summer with Real Madrid also hovering. "Everyone is interested in Pog- ba. He is a great footballer and when you are Madrid you al- ways want the best," Real coach Zinedine Zidane had said before United wrapped up the deal for a player who scored 34 goals in 178 games for Juventus. Pogba joined Juve in 2012, hav- ing come through Le Havre's youth system before moving to United's academy in 2009. He won four Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia trophies in a successful spell with the Turin club but was criticised after fail- ing to shine in the 2015 Champi- ons League final defeat by Barce- lona and France's Euro 2016 loss to Portugal on home soil. Pogba had signed for United on a three-year deal with a one-year renewal option which then Unit- ed manager Alex Ferguson was keen to activate but the 18-year- old was frustrated by a lack of first-team opportunities at the club and decided to leave. The Frenchman made just seven first-team appearances for United, all off the bench. "Fergu- son came to my place. We talked. It did make me think. He wanted to keep me, but I'd made my deci- sion to leave," Pogba has said. He will now be reacquainted with Ferguson, who is a global ambassador at the club, but will take his orders from the uncom- promising Mourinho who will demand a significant return on the club's world record invest- ment in the Frenchman. United have not challenged strongly for the Premier League title since Ferguson led them to the trophy in 2013 before end- ing his glittering 26-year reign as manager at Old Trafford. Paul Pogba Frank de Boer appointed Internazionale head coach FRANK de Boer has been official- ly confirmed as Inter Milan's new head coach following Roberto Mancini's departure on Monday The 46-year-old Dutchman, who was unveiled by the Serie A club at a press conference yester- day afternoon, was approached to become the next Inter boss after Mancini left by mutual consent due to a breakdown in his rela- tionship with the board. De Boer's appointment as his successor has now been rubber- stamped, with a statement on In- ter's official website revealing he has signed a three-year contract to guide the Nerazzurri under ambitious new owners Suning Holdings. He earlier told reporters waiting for him in the airport: "I hope I can achieve a lot of success here. I'll see you tomorrow at the press conference!" De Boer had been linked with Premier League clubs Everton and Southampton before those vacan- cies were filled by Ronald Koeman and Claude Puel respectively. Mancini, meanwhile, left San Siro after his relationship with Chinese company Suning Hold- ings broke down over the sum- mer. The Nerazzurri finished a dis- tant eighth in 2014-15 and an im- provement to fourth the next year was considered a disappointment as Inter had led the standings from Napoli and eventual cham- pions Juventus heading into the winter break. When Suning Holdings ap- proached Indonesian business- man Erick Thohir and bought a majority stake at San Siro in June, Mancini was promised a large transfer budget but only man- aged to secure one major sign- ing, bringing in Italy midfielder Antonio Candreva from Lazio for 22million euros (#18.7m). Ever Banega, formerly of Sevilla, has arrived as a free agent while left-back Cristian Ansaldi was a modest purchase from Genoa. Furthermore, the Nerazzurri have played poorly in pre-season, losing 4-1 to Bayern Munich and then 6-1 to Tottenham in friend- ly games, and growing mutual frustration between the board, Mancini and a group of rebel- lious players has precipitated this change of leadership. De Boer's first assignment will be leading Inter against Borussia Monchengladbach in Ancona on Wednesday night, with a match against Celtic in Limerick to fol- low, and the former Barcelona and Rangers player will hope to make some new signings before the Se- rie A season starts at Chievo on August 21. Frank de Boer World record transfers since 1893 FOLLOWING Paul Pogba's reported world record transfer from Juventus to Manchester United for €104 million yesterday, these are the major world record transfer deals based on pounds sterling since Willie Groves became the first 100 pound (€115) player when he moved from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa in 1893: (Year, Player, Country, Teams involved, Fee Euros) 1893 Willie Groves (Scotland) West Brom to Aston Villa €115 1905 Alf Common (England) Sunderland to Middlesbrough €1,170 1922 Syd Puddefoot (England) West Ham to Falkirk €5,850 1922 Warney Cresswell (England) Sth Shields to Sunderland €6,440 1925 Bob Kelly (England) Burnley to Sunderland €7,600 1928 David Jack (England) Bolton to Arsenal €12,800 1932 B. Ferreyra (Argentina) Tigre to River Plate €26,900 1949 Johnny Morris (England) Man Utd to Derby County €28,100 1949 Eddie Quigley (England) Sheff Wed to Preston €31,000 1950 Trevor Ford (Wales) Aston Villa to Sunderland €35,100 1951 Jackie Sewell (England) Notts County to Sheff Wed 34,500 1952 Hans Jeppson (Sweden) Atalanta to Napoli €39,800 1954 Juan Schiaffino (Uruguay) Penarol to AC Milan €84,200 1957 Omar Sivori (Argentina) River Plate to Juventus €109,000 1961 Luis Suarez (Spain) Barcelona to Inter Milan €177,800 1963 Angelo Sormoni (Brazil) Mantova to AS Roma €293,000 1967 Harald Nielsen (Denmark) Bologna to Inter Milan €351,000 1968 Pietro Anastasi (Italy) Varese to Juventus €585,000 1973 Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) Ajax to Barcelona €1.1m 1975 Giuseppe Savoldi (Italy) Bologna to Napoli 1.2m 1976 Paolo Rossi (Italy) Vicenza to Juventus €2.05m 1982 Diego Maradona (Argentina) Boca Juniors to Barcelona €3.5m 1984 Diego Maradona (Argentina) Barcelona to Napoli €5.9m 1987 Ruud Gullit (N'lands) PSV Eindhoven to AC Milan €7m 1990 Roberto Baggio (Italy) Fiorentina to Juventus €9.4m 1992 Jean-Pierre Papin (France) Marseille to AC Milan €11.7m 1992 Gianluca Vialli (Italy) Sampdoria to Juventus €14m 1993 Gianluigi Lentini (Italy) Torino to AC Milan €15.2m 1996 Alan Shearer (England) Blackburn to Newcastle €17.5m 1997 Ronaldo (Brazil) Barcelona to Inter Milan €23m 1998 Denilson (Brazil) Sao Paulo to Real Betis €25m 1999 Christian Vieri (Italy) Lazio to Inter Milan €37.5m 2000 Hernan Crespo (Argentina) Parma to Lazio €42m 2000 Luis Figo (Portugal) Barcelona to Real Madrid €43m 2001 Zinedine Zidane (France) Juventus to Real Madrid €62m 2009 Kaka (Brazil) AC Milan to Real Madrid €65.5m 2009 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Man Utd to Real Madrid €94m 2013 Gareth Bale (Wales) Tottenham to Real Madrid €100m 2016 Paul Pogba (France) Juventus to Man Utd €104m Willie Groves, the first ever player to be transferred to another club for more than £100 (€115)