Pirlo refutes 'laughing at Manchester United' remark

Former Juventus star Andrea Pirlo has denied mocking Manchester United over their decision to allow Paul Pogba to leave the club in 2012.

Pogba moved back to Old Trafford for a reported world-record fee of close to £93million this month after winning Serie A four times in a row, as well as two Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa titles in Turin.

Pirlo, in quotes attributed to The Daily Mail and widely reported in England, claimed that Juve were "still laughing" at United for letting the France international leave as a 19-year-old for a nominal fee.

But the New York City midfielder has issued a short Instagram message to deny giving any such interview.

Captioning an image containing the words 'Caution: No B******* Zone', he wrote: "Just to make it clear, I never gave any interview to the daily mail talking about Pogba and Manchester".

Pogba, who was suspended for United's 3-1 opening Premier League win over Bournemouth on Sunday, could make his first appearance since rejoining the club against Southampton on Friday.