Benatia, the sporting director at the Ligue 1 club, explained their interest in the 31-year-old free agent during his interview with the daily French sports newspaper L’Equipe.
He enthused about the ex-Bianconeri star: “If the opportunity arises, we would be happy to have a player like Pogba who can help us in the next campaign.
“We thought about him, we wanted to do it, but did it make sense to bring in a Pogba who was not yet in shape?
“The risk was to disrupt the balance of the team with a player who wouldn’t have been at his best by the end of the season.
“He’s a player, a man, that both [club] president [Pablo] Longoria and I admire.”
Benatia and Pogba never played together at Juventus, although their paths would have briefly crossed for the Turin giants.
Former Morocco international Benatia joined Juve in mid-July 2016, with Pogba departing less than a month later to Manchester United for a then-record high soccer transfer fee of €105 million (US$109m).
There was speculation during the recent transfer window that Pogba, who was released by Juventus last November following an 18-month doping ban, could rejoin Manchester United.
There was even Manchester City mentioned as a potential destination. Nothing materialised from these rumours about playing again in the English Premier League.
Having recently fine-tuned his fitness levels in the US with Inter Miami, Pogba was also linked with signing for the MLS club. There was no offer tabled.
Pogba has been out of the sport after he failed a doping test, which was performed after the Bianconeri’s 3-0 win at Udinese in August 2023. He tested positive for the banned substance DHEA.
Initially he received a four-year ban in February 2024, but that was reduced to 18 months. The former fans favourite at Juventus has been permitted to train with professional clubs since January, and next month Pogba can play the sport that he loves once more.
Italian Roberto De Zerbi, who has made Marseille highly competitive this term following his arrival from Brighton & Hove Albion, had approved the club sounding out Pogba’s interest in a possible move to Marseille.
Pogba is believed to be willing to take a drastic wage cut at Marseille compared to his recent spell at Juventus, where he was an icon.
The midfielder’s first spell for the Bianconeri, from 2012 to 2016, saw him make just under 200 appearances and collect an impressive set of trophies. He twice won both the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, on top of four Serie A titles.
His second stint, having rejoined from Manchester United in 2022, ended up being a disaster with only a dozen appearances. He failed to make the same impact, because he suffered a string of injuries and there were disciplinary problems.
If the former French international can get his fitness levels back on track, and avoid any further major injuries, then Pogba could be sporting the Marseille jersey next season in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League action.
With the new format Champions League comprising eight first phase matches involving 32 clubs, there’s a good chance that if Pogba signs for De Zerbi that he could tackle Juventus.