Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon was a guest on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast and he talked about Paul Pogba. The ex-Blanco stated that it would be a mistake to offer Gareth Bale in a swap deal to land the Frenchman, as he is irreplaceable for Real.

What did he say, then?

Pogba has already been linked with the exit door in the last couple of months. Even TalkSPORT themselves stated that he would never play for Manchester United ever again and currently, the French superstar is still out injured.

But Calderon points out that there were indeed rumours stating Pogba could even be a part of some kind of a swap deal with Real and the names of Vinicius Junior and Bale have been thrown around as potential makeweights.

The former president, however, believes sacrificing the Welshman would be a big mistake.

Here's what he said, as quoted by TalkSPORT:

"They are talking here about a swap – Bale or James [Rodriguez] for Pogba. But I think they are only rumours. It is true Zidane is looking for having Pogba; for a long time he has said that publicly.

“But I think it would be a mistake, especially to let Bale go.

“If he is fit and motivated, I think he is irreplaceable for us.”

Dead wrong

Unfortunately, Calderon has got this backwards - a potential swap deal could actually suit all parties involved pretty well.

It's rather simple when you think about it - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has finally managed to establish a midfield without the coveted Frenchman, with Fred and Scott McTominay recently receiving praise from Gary Neville for their performances as an engine room partnership.

Pogba - for all his glorious qualities - has caused copious problems during his time at United, including bust-ups with Jose Mourinho and hinting that his future lay elsewhere during the summer.

This potential swap deal would end the whole Pogba saga and give United some much-needed quality out wide.

He's a football superstar, but how much do you really know about Paul Pogba? Test your knowledge below...

Daniel James and Anthony Martial are not really firing on all cylinders with only seven goals between them in the Premier League, albeit the Welshman is still learning the ropes at Old Trafford, and Bale would represent that benchmark name and provide them with some proven quality at the same time.

As for Zinedine Zidane, he would finally get his wish as we all know about his obsession with the French midfielder.

Even during the summer, Pogba was the only viable option for Los Blancos because their gaffer insisted on it and it seems that he hasn't really changed his mind.

Calderon does get one thing right, however, and that's the fact that Bale certainly can be good "if he is fit and motivated". And at the moment, he seems to be neither of those things.

Sure, he's not injured as we speak but has already missed a total of seven games due to fitness issues in 2019/20 and not to mention that his motivation is largely questionable.

The incident with the Welsh flag first comes to mind when Bale was seen celebrating with a flag that stated: "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order", resulting in a bombardment of whistles and general disliking of the fans in the following games.

Clearly, neither player is 100% happy at their current club and a swap deal represents a chance for everybody to escape their respective situations without losing face.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid hijacking one other Man United target would be bad news for Martin Odegaard...