Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu brushed off "rumours" of a bid for Paul Pogba as he doubted the ease of completing such a deal.

Links between Pogba and the LaLiga champions have become more frequent with the Manchester United midfielder's relationship with Jose Mourinho appearing to grow more difficult.

The United manager recently stripped Pogba of the vice-captaincy and the pair were seen sharing terse words during a training-ground confrontation last week.

While reports suggest World Cup winner Pogba is seeking an escape route to Barcelona, Bartomeu questioned United's willingness to negotiate.

"I read these rumours - not just about Pogba but a lot of players," Bartomeu told the Times.

"Most of the teams don't want to sell their players. They want to grow.

"In football, you have to win, to generate funds, be successful. Also, I don't like to speak about other teams' players.

"When you hear from agents that a certain player is on the market - and I am not saying that about this player, but generally - I will sometimes call the CEO and say: 'Is it true you want to sell this player?'.

"Usually they say 'no way, not for sale' and that's the end of it."

France star Pogba returned to United from Juventus in a big-money deal in 2016. He was withdrawn in the 70th minute of the 3-1 weekend defeat at West Ham.