Paul Pogba is targeting a free deal to Real Madrid next summer.
The Manchester United playmaker, 28, will now run down the final 12 months of his current contract at Old Trafford before walking away to the Bernabeu for nothing.
And Pogba will be one third of an amazing treble swoop by Real - with fellow French ace Kylian Mbappe and Norwegian striker Erling Haaland set to follow him to Spain.
Real have been hamstrung in this summer’s transfer market as the salary cap in operation in La Liga bites hard post-COVID.
However, the Spanish giants are already planning a Galatico-style revival this time next year as they fight back against the increasing dominance of their major European rivals.
And Pogba, who created United’s first three goals against Leeds yesterday, is very much in the frame to spearhead that bid to reclaim the summit.
The fact Mbappe, 22, could also be a free transfer as he stalls over a new contract with big-spending Paris Saint-Germain makes the double deal for the pair of World Cup winners all the more attractive.
For that will then allow them to launch a serious move for Haaland, 21.
The Borussia Dortmund hitman has a £65m buy-out clause in his contract, which comes into operation in July 2022.
If, as seems probable, he stays in Germany for one more campaign, a massive scramble for his signature is inevitable.
But while both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich will be in the queue of clubs after him, Real are confident they will have the necessary cash to splash - thanks to the huge savings being made on Pogba and Mbappe.