Marotta: Ancelotti not honest regarding Real's interest on Pogba

Juventus general director Giuseppe Marotta has accused Carlo Ancelotti of telling a "white lie" and claims Real Madrid are interested in Paul Pogba.

The Juve star has been heavily linked with a move away from Serie A in recent months with Madrid one of the few clubs who could put together a financial package big enough to tempt him from Turin. Ancelotti, though, has ruled out the possibility of his side making a move for the highly-ratedFrance international, insisting they have no interest in bringing him to the Spanish capital.

"I think Pogba is a great player," he told Sky Italia. "He can play in any team in the world, but not for Real Madrid because he is not a player who interests us."

However, Marotta insists the Madrid boss is telling a "white lie," claiming Ancelotti has already approached Juve to ask about the former Manchester United midfielder.

"Ancelotti asked me some questions about Pogba," he said to Sky Italia. "He says he's not interested? Well, that's a white lie. I'm sure he has his reasons to say it's not true."

Marotta stressed Juventus will do all they can to ensure the player stays at Juve for as long as possible, but is realistic over the potential salary the midfielder could command elsewhere.

"We will do everything within out limits to hold on to Pogba, but we must not forget Italy is a country in transition," Marotta added. "The problem we have is that of offers coming in from other clubs offering him a salary that we are not able to match due to our financial situation. At the moment, there's no reason to believe that Pogba will definitely leave Juventus for another team, but we have to bear in mind that we cannot compete with the wages that are being paid elsewhere. We have our limits."