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Florentino Perez Describes Real Madrid's Failure to Sign Pogba, Lewandowski

Florentino Perez has tried but failed to sign Robert Lewandowski and Paul Pogba for Real Madrid.
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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has revealed he tried to sign Robert Lewandowski for 'years' - only to be pushed back by Bayern Munich - while Paul Pogba remains a player his club are unable to sign.

Having been linked with a move to the Spanish capital all summer, Pogba eventually remained at Old Trafford after Madrid were priced out of a move, while Lewandowski put pen to paper on fresh terms to remain in Bavaria.

While blatantly expressing his desire to sign both players, Perez confessed that not every player is an achievable target, with the duo's respective clubs putting an end to Madrid's interest.

"There are players who don't get sold," Perez said, via Marca.

"We went for Lewandowski for several years and nothing happened because he has no clause and they [Bayern Munich] won't sell him. There's no way. And that's happened with Pogba. When certain players can be sold, we can go for them."

While the comments do not definitively rule out another move for Pogba in the future, Perez's stance on any deal appears to have softened, especially considering the amount of money to club parted with as Zinedine Zidane looks to craft a new squad capable of a league challenge and Champions League success.

The club's president also addressed some issues that remained from the season before, insisting those creases were ironed out over the summer, in which Madrid spent upwards of £270m on eight additions.

"We had nine Ballon d'Or nominees and a team valued at 1.2 billion euros," he added. "Last year the problem wasn't one player, but everyone's mentality. Important players have been signed, [Eden] Hazard among them."