An inquiry is ongoing into the multi-million pound payments involved in Paul Pogba's record-breaking €100m purchase by Manchester United from Juventus last summer, Fifa has confirmed.
Pogba's agent, the Monaco-based Mino Raiola, is reported according to documents revealed by the Football Leaks operation to have been paid the extraordinary total of €49m, from representing all three sides in the deal: Juventus, United and Pogba himself.
Fifa, whose executives and national football association delegates have gathered in Bahrain for Thursday’s annual congress, confirmed that its Transfer Matching System has “requested information” about the Pogba deal.
TMS is a database to which the payments made in all transfers worldwide must be disclosed, in order for them to be approved by football’s world governing body.
TMS is understood to have written to United seeking further information about the Pogba deal, and the inquiry is “ongoing” Fifa said, while not providing further detail about the issues on which clarification was required.
Reports based on extracts from documents and contracts relating to Pogba’s move, revealed by the Football Leaks operation, allege that Raiola, always described in media reports as Pogba’s own agent, was also employed by Juventus before the player’s move, to engineer a sale at the best possible price.
Pogba’s performances for the Serie A giant had made him one of the most coveted young midfield players in Europe, wanted by many top clubs, and part of Raiola’s role for Juventus, according to the leaks, was to generate competition between clubs to deliver a top price.
Some reports have said that United engaged Raiola at the same time, paying another very large fee, to help secure the signing of Pogba. Raiola is said to have also worked for Pogba himself as his agent, to negotiate his new salary package when he joined United.
Reports put the figures paid to Raiola, who resides in the Monaco tax haven, at €27m from Juventus, ‚€19.4m by United and a further €2.6m paid by United on behalf of Pogba for negotiating his wage package.
Unusually compared to other commercial industries, in football agents are permitted to act for two sides to a transfer, and three in exceptional circumstances, as long as all parties are aware of it and agree.
United have said they are “relaxed” about the TMS inquiries, issuing a statement which said: “We do not comment on individual contracts. Fifa have had the documents since the transfer was concluded in August.”
Formally the TMS clarification request does not constitute an investigation; if TMS believes there have been irregularities in a transfer or in the payments involved, it refers the details to Fifa’s own disciplinary committee. A spokesman told the Guardian that there are no disciplinary proceedings ongoing.
Juventus have not yet commented on the reports. At the time of writing, Raiola himself had not responded to questions about the Pogba move, and the reports that he represented and was paid by all three sides in the transfer, making £41m.
Guardian Services
