LONDON, August 9 (Reuters) - France midfielder Paul Pogba has rejoined Manchester United from Italian champions Juventus 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 89 million pounds ($115.98 million) on the 23--year-old, eclipsing the 100 million euros ($110.84 million) Real Madrid paid for Welshman Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013.
“I am delighted to rejoin United. 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 statement 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 Mourinho's new signings following defender Eric Bailly, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the Portuguese 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.
"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."
GREAT FOOTBALLER
The France midfielder, whose strength and range of passing should allow United to play a more expansive game than the limited style adopted by Dutchman Van Gaal, has been a hot property all summer with Real Madrid also hovering.
"Everyone is interested in Pogba. He is a great footballer and when you are Madrid you always 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, having 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 failing to shine in the 2015 Champions League final defeat by Barcelona 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 United 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. "Ferguson came to my place. We talked. It did make me think. He wanted to keep me, but I'd made my decision 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 uncompromising Mourinho who will demand a significant return on the club's world record investment in the Frenchman.
United have not challenged strongly for the Premier League title since Ferguson led them to the trophy in 2013 before ending his glittering 26-year reign as manager at Old Trafford.
Factbox - Evolution of world record transfers since 1893
(Reuters) - Following Paul Pogba's reported world record transfer from Juventus to Manchester United for 89 million pounds ($115.90 million) on Tuesday, these are the major world record transfer deals based on pounds sterling since Willie Groves became the first 100 pound player when he moved from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa in 1893: (Year, Player, Country, Teams involved, Fee in pounds)
1893 Willie Groves (Scotland) West Brom to Aston Villa 100
1905 Alf Common (England) Sunderland to Middlesbrough 1,000
1922 Syd Puddefoot (England) West Ham to Falkirk 5,000
1922 Warney Cresswell (England) Sth Shields to Sunderland 5,500
1925 Bob Kelly (England) Burnley to Sunderland 6,500
1928 David Jack (England) Bolton to Arsenal 10,890
1932 B. Ferreyra (Argentina) Tigre to River Plate 23,000
1949 Johnny Morris (England) Man Utd to Derby County 24,000
1949 Eddie Quigley (England) Sheff Wed to Preston 26,500
1950 Trevor Ford (Wales) Aston Villa to Sunderland 30,000
1951 Jackie Sewell (England) Notts County to Sheff Wed 34,500
1952 Hans Jeppson (Sweden) Atalanta to Napoli 52,000
1954 Juan Schiaffino (Uruguay) Penarol to AC Milan 72,000
1957 Omar Sivori (Argentina) River Plate to Juventus 93,000
1961 Luis Suarez (Spain) Barcelona to Inter Milan 152,000
1963 Angelo Sormoni (Brazil) Mantova to AS Roma 250,000
1967 Harald Nielsen (Denmark) Bologna to Inter Milan 300,000
1968 Pietro Anastasi (Italy) Varese to Juventus 500,000
1973 Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) Ajax to Barcelona 922,000
1975 Giuseppe Savoldi (Italy) Bologna to Napoli 1.2m
1976 Paolo Rossi (Italy) Vicenza to Juventus 1.75m
1982 Diego Maradona (Argentina) Boca Juniors to Barcelona 3.0m
1984 Diego Maradona (Argentina) Barcelona to Napoli 5.0m
1987 Ruud Gullit (N'lands) PSV Eindhoven to AC Milan 6.0m
1990 Roberto Baggio (Italy) Fiorentina to Juventus 8.0m
1992 Jean-Pierre Papin (France) Marseille to AC Milan 10.0m
1992 Gianluca Vialli (Italy) Sampdoria to Juventus 12.0m
1993 Gianluigi Lentini (Italy) Torino to AC Milan 13.0m
1996 Alan Shearer (England) Blackburn to Newcastle 15.0m
1997 Ronaldo (Brazil) Barcelona to Inter Milan 19.5m
1998 Denilson (Brazil) Sao Paulo to Real Betis 21.5m
1999 Christian Vieri (Italy) Lazio to Inter Milan 32.0m
2000 Hernan Crespo (Argentina) Parma to Lazio 35.5m
2000 Luis Figo (Portugal) Barcelona to Real Madrid 37.0m
2001 Zinedine Zidane (France) Juventus to Real Madrid 53.0m
2009 Kaka (Brazil) AC Milan to Real Madrid 56.0m
2009 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Man Utd to Real Madrid 80.0m
2013 Gareth Bale (Wales) Tottenham to Real Madrid 85.3m
2016 Paul Pogba (France) Juventus to Man Utd 89.0m
