Manchester United flatly rejected a bid of 30 million euros (£27.6m) plus James Rodriguez for wantaway midfielder Paul Pogba.

The derisory offer - dismissed out of hand last week - is thought to have confirmed United’s long-held suspicions that Real do not had the funds to finance a serious move for Pogba after a summer in which the Spanish giants have already committed more than £270m in transfer fees.

Real have been trying to offload Rodriguez all summer and have put a price of around 50m euros (£46m) on the Colombia forward. That figure, combined with their small cash offer for Pogba, was still less than half United’s £160m valuation of the France midfielder. Real are now reported to have turned their sights to Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the United manager, insisted after his side’s 2-2 draw against AC Milan in Cardiff on Saturday that he had “no doubts” Pogba would remain with the club next season.

Telegraph Sport reported back on June 19 - just four days after Pogba had publicly declared his wish to seek a new challenge at another club - that the player feared he would be priced out of a move this summer.