The Spanish side were unable to put together any deal that would approach the £150 million sought by United

Manchester United insist that Paul Pogba will start the season with them after Real Madrid finally made an offer for the World Cup winner last week — a derisory £27.4 million plus the Colombia forward James Rodríguez.

Sources in Spain confirmed the bid and added that Real were unable to put together any deal that would approach the £150 million United would demand for the 26-year-old France midfielder.

United also pulled the plug on their pursuit of Paulo Dybala last night because of the Juventus forward’s exorbitant demands. Talks about a potential swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku have now ceased and the deal is off.

The Times understands United would have had to pay more than £100 million in wages and agents’ fees alone to