Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi has explained that the club opted against signing Paul Pogba because he did not want to "unbalance" his squad.

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Pogba available on a free transferYet to find a new club Marseille had been linkedFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Pogba is a free agent after his Juventus contract was terminated. He is still serving a doping ban currently but its reduction to 18 months means he will be available to sign for a club from March. Marseille had been linked with an interest in the former Manchester United star.

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Now, though, it appears that De Zerbi has ruled out any prospect of a move for the World Cup winner. While crediting the 31-year-old's talent, he insists that he cannot afford to "unbalance" his squad, with Marseille currently second in Ligue 1.

WHAT DE ZERBI SAID

De Zerbi told reporters: "The balance of the dressing room, nobody could change it. Nobody will unbalance my dressing room as long as I am [the] coach. That was not the problem. Pogba is a very great player, but we had to understand where we could use him once he was available to play, in what role, what position.

"The more champions there are, the happier I am, that wasn't it. It was a general assessment and maybe it will change but at the moment we made this decision due to several factors."

AFPWHAT NEXT?

Marseille are next in action against Angers on Sunday. They trail league leaders PSG by 13 points.