Perhaps the most divisive person in football, Paul Labile Pogba is seen as an enigma by many.
I say person and not player because the constant debate surrounding him extends far beyond the field of play. Some love him whilst others cannot stand the mere mention of him. Think JK Simmons’ J Jonah Jameson screaming about and besmirching Spider-Man constantly, even when he does good, and this is how many feel about La Pioche. The reality is he is misunderstood by many, and media narratives have only heightened this cloud of confusion that surrounds him. The situation is in reality not as complicated as it seems.
Disclaimer: This is a long-read article, you may want to split it into sections
What is Paul Pogba: The footballer
The first question that has created confusion since he came to Manchester United is, what is Paul Pogba’s best position? He has been tried in many and never seemed to find a home in one, not helped by United’s managers generally being more reactive than proactive in his time at the club. Some would argue within all the chopping and changing of position, role and overall team tactics, he was never given a chance to find a home. Others would put it down to attributes such as lack of focus, commitment, and consistency.
The answer is quite simple, he is a central midfielder. A number eight, but an advanced one. He is best utilized as the most advanced player in a midfield three. On the left-hand side is where a lot of his best football comes from, but he is comfortable on the right and centrally too. His best role could be likened to what the Italians call a Mezzala, a ‘half winger’. This was the role he played when he lined up as a nominal left winger for United in the back half of the 2020/21 season and many believe he played his best football here. He also played this role in a 4–3–3 for United on many occasions in his first three seasons and did it well.
To break down Pogba as a player: he is a 6'4 physical powerhouse possessing technical qualities matched by few. He has mastered every pass you can think of and sees passes that 99% don’t, whilst also being one of the best dribblers in his position (particularly remarkable at his size), and when dribbling he is expressive & flairy yet also devastatingly effective. He uses both feet well, can shoot from distance, attack the box, and poses a great aerial threat.
These are his strengths. His weaknesses come in his defensive awareness and discipline, when the ball goes past him he is an unreliable tracker in a midfield pivot. He can also be prone to pressure in his own third at times, often getting caught in two minds and dwelling on the ball too long as a result. The fact that he is often double or triple-teamed by opponents does not help this.
Sometimes, we will see him produce moments of pure brilliance to evade pressure in his third, see Marcus Rashford’s goal against Sheffield United in December 2020. In others, we see him lose the ball almost inexplicably which opens his team up, this is not something you want in a midfield pivot. You almost want a player you don’t notice, to just keep things ticking over. This isn’t Pogba’s game and not how he is best optimised.
Some have suggested that these struggles come down to him having too many natural gifts, he is so much stronger and quicker than other players so can beat them physically, but also so technically gifted and can rely on this to escape difficult situations. Higher up the pitch, we see him leverage these qualities, both separately and together, to find unique solutions.
Deeper, however, inviting contact with your back to goal is not optimal for evading pressure in your own third at senior level, no matter how powerful you are. Given his superior physical traits, he never needed to learn how to use his body to evade pressure in his developing years ala Modrić, Kroos, Thiago, Verratti, etc. All of these midfielders possess some kind of physical deficiency and have had to learn to work around this. Pogba has not, and due to not having to learn he has never been taught. Considering this, the theory of being too gifted for his own good makes a lot of sense.
“We felt he was the one that would go and win us games really.” - Darren Fletcher
On Sky Sports in 2018, Darren Fletcher gave what was a pretty accurate assessment of Paul Pogba, based on his time coaching United’s reserve team in 2012 - a team Pogba was part of - when he was out of playing with Acute Leukaemia. On the Frenchman, he said, “We played him (Pogba) a lot higher up the pitch in advanced areas, in attacking areas.”
“Whether that be central, right or left or wide, and we felt he was the one that would go and win us games really.”
“A combination of the fact we felt he had a little bit of ill-discipline in the middle of the park as more of a normal central midfielder.”
Fletcher also spoke about a famous 3–2 loss to Blackburn in 2011/12 in which Pogba was left on the bench by Sir Alex Ferguson despite United’s central midfielders all being out injured. Fletcher cited this indiscipline as the reason, believing Pogba was not ready to play in central midfield in such an important game. He reiterated his statement profiling Pogba as a more advanced midfield player, “I think he saw himself as a central midfielder but we saw him more as an attacking midfielder who could get in areas and be a match-winner.”
So Pogba is a central midfielder, but one who belongs in more advanced positions. An attacking number eight essentially, but not quite a number ten. He has been criticised when playing deeper in midfield because of inconsistency and mistakes, and there is merit to some of this without a doubt. But ask yourself this: if a player is being consistently misused, is it entirely the player’s fault for not always performing to their best level?
From a personal standpoint, Pogba is one of the single most gifted footballers I’ve ever seen. For all the flaws, and the fact it didn’t work out at United, few players I have ever seen play the sport can make me go 'wow' in the way Pogba can.
Be it plucking the ball out of the sky like it wasn’t there, sending it skywards to land perfectly in the path of a teammate, almost as if he intended it to land on the specific blades of grass, escaping what seem to be inescapable situations with pieces of mesmerising skill or rocketing a ball into the back of the net, the things Pogba can do with a football are special, and is this feeling of wonder not what defines our footballing experience, as fans, more so than anything else?
Who is Paul Pogba: The person
This is where it starts to become slightly more controversial. Pogba has always been unapologetically himself, be it in his fun dancing celebrations, unorthodox hairstyles, interest in fashion, or comical social media posts.
Some are enamoured by this, they see him as a beacon of free expression and someone who has gone a long way to try and bridge the gap between football and the world that exists outside of it (to some people, at least). To others, they are reviled. They see him as someone who does not take what he does seriously and consider his antics disrespectful to his employers, and an insult to the memory of those who came before him (most of all, Roy Keane).
To some, it is more personal. As a black, Muslim footballer who places these two details at the forefront of his identity, he is a role model and key figure in the fight against things such as racism & Islamophobia. As a Muslim football fan myself, I’ve personally spoken before about the impact that Paul Pogba has had on me, and many others like me.
Having reverted to Islam at 20 years old, Pogba has always looked to share the love he has for the religion he found and act in his daily life as Muslims are taught to act. He has spoken about the importance of the five daily prayers assigned to us, and about supererogatory prayers that he has turned to in times of need, and is regularly seen performing pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
Where questions arise about Pogba’s character come from interviews made by those around him, and his personal responses (or lack of) to these interviews, which have proven problematic. Pogba’s now-deceased agent Mino Raiola, who Sir Alex Ferguson notoriously had issues with, would frequent the press to criticise the club and their handling of his client, and hint at potential transfers. The same with some members of Pogba’s family. Had it been a one or two-time thing, easily forgivable. But it happened more than this, and bar one occasion Paul never seemingly spoke out to refute these comments, nor did he seem to ask them to be quiet.
When Pogba himself spoke about his future in the summer of 2019, despite doing so in what was actually quite a respectful manner, saying he felt it was time for a new challenge, it was received badly by fans due to past comments that had been made by his entourage. The fact United had just come off a poor season did not help. When José Mourinho had been sacked by United the previous December, a post was uploaded to Pogba’s Instagram reading ‘Caption this’ with a photo of Paul making a funny face. Minutes later it was deleted, but many deemed this highly disrespectful & unprofessional from the Frenchman, even if somewhat understandable.
Pogba and Mourinho notoriously fell out, with the two originally getting along well but Mourinho then turning cold towards Pogba, seemingly out of nowhere. Pogba, a proud individual, retaliated and tensions between the two flared even higher. By the end of Mourinho’s tenure, club captain turned assistant coach Michael Carrick was the only line of communication between the two, along with some other players. Pogba has opened up about facing depression during his time working under Mourinho, with relations failing affecting him personally. Mental health is a topic still highly stigmatised in football, and sport in general, so it was an important admission to make for the progression of the sport.
Carrick and Pogba had a strong relationship, having been teammates before the United legend’s retirement, but Carrick did have to reprimand Pogba in the wake of Mourinho’s sacking, with Pogba leading celebrations in training at the news and screaming “He f***ed with the wrong baller” regarding the Portuguese manager.
It is moments like this where Pogba, a fiercely proud man who has been described by Carl Anka as being quite passive-aggressive in nature, has been questioned as a person. Often he can seem quite unaware and may make a comment or put out an Instagram post which is unhelpful and lands him under fire. An example came during protests in France against police brutality, where other French footballers were speaking up but Pogba tweeted to wish people well for Thanksgiving.
The biggest example of this tone-deafness was undoubtedly the Manchester Derby in 2018, where the Frenchman turned up to the Etihad with a streak of blue in his hair, right after his agent had claimed he offered him to Manchester City. Granted, the hair was blue because of international duty with France a couple of weeks prior, and he more than responded with a talismanic performance to drag United to a 3–2 win from 2–0 down at half-time, before dismissing the paper talk in the post-match celebrations, and stating that losing the game, to allow City to win the league against United, would have been ‘like death’ and that they ‘could not let it happen’, citing the impact on fans as an extra motivator.
But turning up to a Manchester Derby with a streak of blue in your hair is just not something you do as a Manchester United player, the smarter thing would have been to dye his hair a different colour before the game.
“People don’t know him. People don’t. They don’t know him for who he is. He is very misunderstood, in my opinion, for the way he is, his personality and what he brings the team.” - Scott Mctominay
In general, however, ‘La Pioche’ is a remarkably well-loved and good-hearted character, and is a leading figure in football when it comes to speaking out against injustice and oppression. He has dedicated celebrations to those suffering around the world, such as against Newcastle in 2017/18, and had anti-racism wristbands gifted to the entire Manchester United squad in the 2019/20 season. He raised the Palestinian flag along with fellow Muslim Amad Diallo after a win over Fulham in the 2020/21 season, in the first game with fans at Old Trafford in a year.
Pogba himself has suffered racial abuse on a number of occasions, even from his own fans. His relationship with United fans has been a complicated one at times, with Pogba unapologetically himself and United fans sometimes uncompromising, especially with the club having a history of characters such as Roy Keane. The fans have not taken kindly to some things, and it led to a bitter end.
Divisions within the fanbase regarding Pogba were rife. As a victim of abuse targeting his skin colour & religion, many of Pogba’s fans would cite these as reasons for their dislike. In some cases this was true, but in many, it was not and these accusations only further turned those who dislike Pogba against him.
However his relationships with teammates, (most) coaches, and others within football, and sport in general - he holds a close friendship with basketball player Jimmy Butler - are strong. At both Juventus and Manchester United, it was evident to see that Pogba was a player who held the respect of the entire dressing room, even commanding the respect of the seniors of the dominant Juventus team of the 2010s at such a young age. Interactions on social media platforms, videos from behind the scenes, interviews and even moments on the pitch confirm the strength of these relationships. Many United players were sad to see him go, and upon his recent return from injury, his former teammates rushed to show support for him on social media.
He has made many close friendships within football and always looks to connect with teammates and opposition players alike. When Harry Maguire first signed for Manchester United, Paul Pogba was at the training ground waiting to greet him and help him settle in after his club media duties as a new signing. It was not only Maguire who Pogba was a helping hand to, with Scott Mctominay having stated many times Pogba’s influence on not only himself but many other youth players looking to break into the first team. On his then-teammate in 2020, Mctominay said “People don’t know him. People don’t. They don’t know him for who he is. He is very misunderstood, in my opinion, for the way he is, his personality and what he brings the team.”
Pogba was often seen advising his teammates on the sides and providing encouragement, and many stories from behind the scenes paint him as a very positive influence and leader to his teammates. His leadership role in the French National Team is well-documented, with Didier Deschamps - a World Cup winner as a player himself - seeing Pogba as what he was to the French side in his days.
In the 2021/22 season, a season filled with toxicity around the club and ruthless abuse being directed at a struggling Maguire, it was Pogba who was looking to mediate the dressing room and lift the spirits of the club captain especially. As reported by The Athletic, after a strong clearance at the end of a win over Brighton, Pogba reaffirmed that they must believe in themselves and said to Maguire “You’re an £80 million player for a reason.” In this same season, Pogba was one of the few who commanded the respect of Cristiano Ronaldo and often tried to bridge what felt like a clear divide between him and many others at the club.
In an interview with Laura Woods during the 2020 lockdown, she told a story of how Romelu Lukaku was due to do an interview at United’s training ground, Carrington, but had gone home. Pogba, who had stayed behind for extra training - being the last player to leave Carrington was a regular occurrence for him at United - happily remained behind to conduct the interview in Lukaku’s place and Woods had nothing but good words to say about the Frenchman’s character. Others have told similar stories, and club media were appreciative of Pogba’s willingness to cover media duties if others dropped out.
At times Pogba may seem naive, tone-deaf, or straight-up unaware, and may not help himself with some antics. But in general, it is clear that he just wants to express all aspects of his personality and spread joy both on and off the pitch in a pure and almost childlike manner. He is caring at heart yet equally proud & headstrong and has a clear desire to succeed and be at the forefront of the footballing success of his sides. He is principled, and no matter what he refuses to abandon these principles.
This authenticity of character is something that the game has lacked in years gone by, and may even be part of why some fans have struggled to accept him as a person. But footballers are not robots, the game has moved on. Outrage over things such as haircuts, celebrations and social media usage, where inoffensive, has been blown way out of proportion from the start, as have most of the negatives surrounding Paul.
Pogba is not without his flaws. But when the media and wider public constantly complain of the drama surrounding him, they should consider that would they simply not buy into and perpetuate such ridiculous narratives, blowing such minor details out of proportion, the drama would be hugely minimalised. To be criticised for things such as haircuts, and celebrating goals (???!!!), is beyond ridiculous, not to mention comments on his dedication to football. He would not have made it nearly as far as he did without an unimaginable amount of dedication.
To conclude this section, Commissioner Gordon once described Batman as ‘The hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now’, and in many ways Pogba is the hero football deserves, but not what it needs right now. In time, as the sport grows and evolves with this new generation, his contributions will become more appreciated.
Injury Problems
Maybe the biggest thing that has held Pogba back, certainly in recent years, is his injury record. He had a few injuries prior to the 2019/20 season, but since late 2019 this injury-proneness has accelerated majorly, and where before he was a player who would play through the pain barrier if he had a knock, he has become more cautious with his health and had longer layoffs since that season. At Juventus, he missed close to two months in the 2014/15 season and two months in the 2017/18 season with hamstring and thigh injuries, with a couple of other, smaller injuries too.
In the early 19/20 season, as Pogba himself said, he fractured his foot against Southampton in the league. Within a month, he had returned to play and remained on the pitch for 90 minutes against Rochdale in a league cup fixture, a questionable decision. By the end of the game, he was struggling to stand and thus could not take a penalty for United in their shootout that game. He was very clearly not fully fit, even for a game against a League One side. Despite this, he again played a full match six days later against Arsenal, where again he did not look fully fit. After this game, he was not seen again until Christmas time, when he once again pushed himself through the pain barrier with United in need. He managed impressive cameos against Watford and Newcastle but would turn out to need surgery on his foot and was not seen again until after the lockdown.
He contracted COVID-19 prior to the 2020/21 season, and the lasting effects on his fitness hindered him in the opening months of the season, a three week ankle injury in mid-November did not help. Around January he came back to full fitness, and was thriving in the aforementioned 'left wing' role, but a thigh injury in February saw him miss a month and a half, by which point United’s faux title charge, that he had been spearheading, had dropped off.
In the 21/22 season, Pogba picked up yet another hamstring injury, becoming a slightly reoccurring problem. He would miss games from 8th November to 3rd February, taking an extra few weeks to ensure full fitness. His season ended at Anfield in late May where he came off with a calf injury, having felt uncomfortable going into the game. He would not play for United again, or even play competitive football until March of this year, tearing his MCL after a bad challenge from a teammate in Juventus training during pre-season, and a few other setbacks as he neared fitness. He is still working his way back to being able to play full matches.
Pogba had forced himself back early on a few occasions, even cutting short his holiday post-World Cup win in 2018, to come back and help United, but it had often come at the cost of his health, inherently limiting how much help he could be to United. In what is becoming an increasingly testing physical landscape in football, it is important that players give more attention to their health.
Since late 2019, Pogba’s availability has been poor and it has frustrated many fans, those who dislike him further using this as leverage against him. Pogba was undoubtedly mismanaged with regards to his fitness in this time, something many others players (most notably, Marcus Rashford) also suffered from under Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Pogba himself also recently spoke in an interview about the impact of his brother’s extortion case on not only his mental health but his physical health too, impacting him as he recovered from injuries in 2022.
I have spoken about Pogba’s character and how it is perceived, and the character assassination went to the extent that even when he posted a video of himself following surgery in the 2019/20 season, having been accused of faking injury, he was further accused of staging the surgery. What kind of ridiculousness even leads one to imagine this, much less unironically believe it?
A video of him dancing at his brother’s wedding was one justification, another being him shooting hoops in Miami with good friend Jimmy Butler whilst recovering in the States. I personally find it quite ridiculous that people equate these fairly small physical exertions to playing football matches in the Premier League, the two are absolute worlds apart.
The lack of clarity surrounding Pogba’s injuries has been one of the biggest sources of frustration for fans. On one side, this lack of clarity creates doubt and makes fans wonder what is really going on. On the other side, fans should be more trusting of the player, and also just think more rationally when it comes to injuries.
No footballer wants to not play football, however much fans may love it these professionals are far more dedicated to it than we could ever be, and this fact gets lost in fandom sometimes.
Pogba’s Career & Legacy: Has He Truly Failed?
When you consider what he could have been, being the most talented young midfielder in a number of years and tipped to be in conversations with the best of his kind, then even for his biggest of fans is is unquestionable that Pogba has not fully lived up to what could have been. But does this actually mean he has failed? With the context of his elite talent levels, things haven’t gone to plan. This is not all the context however.
Leaving Manchester United for Juventus aged 20 with a handful of senior appearances under his belt, and making himself a regular in a title-winning team is exceptional. Leaving United, he was painted as a talented youth player who had gotten too big for his boots, yet accounts from those who worked with him reserved only words of praise for not just his ability on the field, but his character off it and his dedication to training and football.
In Pogba’s four years in Italy, he won four Scudettos, being a key player in all of them. 2012/13 was his first season and he made 27 appearances in the league for Juventus as they won the title. Later in the season, he made his senior debut for France, where he would go on to be a key player.
At the end of 2013, he would win the Golden Boy award for the best young player in Europe, having already won the Golden Ball for being the best player at the U20 World Cup, where he captained France to their only-ever victory in the tournament, winning in the final on penalties. Antonio Conte’s work developing him was a key factor in this, and Pogba said on the Italian “Conte has done nothing but push me…he has shown he is not afraid to give me a chance, and that age does not mean a thing.”
“He’s got great potential and could be a great player both offensively and defensively for Juventus. That is me saying this, remember I used to be up and down the field myself in my playing days. Paul can fulfil his potential and become a great champion. It’s our duty to make him grow in the right way in order to understand the game and adapt to different situations.” - Antonio Conte
In the 2013/14 season, he played over 3000 league minutes in 36 appearances and racked up 14 goal contributions in a team that picked up 102 points, a record in Europe’s top five leagues. He mostly did this thriving in the 'Mezzala' role I mentioned previously, playing higher up the pitch and often operating in wider areas. Whilst he showed competency filling in for Pirlo in the 'Regista' role at the base of Conte’s midfield, it was clear again he was a player who thrived higher up the field where he could impact and even singlehandedly win matches for Juve.
That summer he went to the World Cup with France, being a standout performer as they reached the quarter-final stage and winning the award for the tournament’s best young player. Massimiliano Allegri would replace Antonio Conte - who had been so key to Pogba’s development as a player, teaching him to influence the game as a whole more and pushing him very hard, as evidenced in the above quote - as Juventus manager that summer, and despite the departures of Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal, two world-class players who had helped Pogba to thrive, he hit another level as he continued to develop. On his teammate, Pirlo has said “I will always remember the first day he trained at Juventus. He was only young, but we could see he was special.”
An injury saw him miss some time, but he was a pivotal part of Juventus’ league win with 15 goals & assists, won his first Coppa Italia, and came up with key contributions in their charge to a UEFA Champions League final, playing a crucial role in a semi-final win over Real Madrid and losing out only to Luis Enrique’s treble-winning Barcelona. In 2015, he would be nominated as part of both UEFA’s team of the year and FIFA’s FIFPro World XI, being the youngest member of both teams and the first Juventus player to be nominated since Gianluigi Buffon in 2007.
In 2015/16 he played over 3000 league minutes and was one of Juve’s two best players, along with Paulo Dybala, as they won the Scudetto and Cup double again. He was nominated for his third successive Serie A Team of the Year. They exited the UCL in the Round of 16 after losing to Bayern Munich, with Pogba performing well despite the exit. We also saw the most complete version of him as a player so far, with the departures of the aforementioned players forcing him to work on his ability in deeper areas, and he became an elite passer of a football. At this point, he was one of if not the hottest commodities in world football and every top club on the planet was looking at him, it became clear that he would leave Juventus that summer.
After a rocky start at the European Championships in 2016, Pogba played a key role in France reaching the final where they would lose to Portugal. Boss Didier Deschamps tweaked things around after this rocky start to try and facilitate Pogba better, and it was working well. In the final Pogba put in a fairly poor display, leading to a great amount of criticism given the rumours of a huge move. He would get that big move in the summer, returning to Manchester United for £89 million, a world record fee. His first season back in Manchester was excellent, and primarily playing deeper he showcased how much he had improved as a footballer since rejoining from Juventus.
There were some inconsistencies, and he was criticised for these heavily in the media given his price tag, but in an incomplete United side where he was playing a suboptimal role, he was never going to maximise his impact. Pogba’s statistics had him up there amongst the best midfielders in the league that season, he had been a real standout for United and won the Europa League Player of the Tournament award as he spearheaded United to the trophy, also scoring in the final. United would win the League Cup that season too.
2017/18 would see Pogba go trophyless at club level, losing in the FA Cup final to Chelsea. It was a season where his highs gave us maybe the best-ever version of him - with a few particularly memorable performances - but where there were a few too many lows too, particularly in the second half of the season after United signed Alexis Sánchez, who liked to demand the ball in the same spaces Pogba was operating (and thriving) in. After the Chilean signed, it was clear he and Pogba were struggling to coexist and for a couple of months, Pogba was very poor. It was also in this season that tensions with Mourinho began to simmer. What he did in the summer of 2018, however, exceeds anything he could have won at club level.
Given the opportunity to right the wrongs of two years prior, Pogba was a top two player and key leader for the French national team as they won their second World Cup trophy. His performance in the final, where he was the clear best player on the pitch (including that year’s Ballon D’Or winner, Luka Modrić), and his deciding goal will live long in the memory of football fans. In football, we often associate moments with the live commentary we hear at the time, and Peter Drury’s “Pogba, for France and possibly now the world” is a line that will go down in World Cup folklore. Pogba that summer ran France’s possession excellently, being the top ball progressor at the World Cup. He also defended incredibly well, despite the narrative being that Blaise Matuidi and N’Golo Kante did all of his defending for him.
2018/19 was the most productive season of Pogba’s career. It was patchy, with Mourinho drama clouding parts of the opening months, but after Mourinho was sacked and Solskjær took over, Pogba was playing like a man with a burden lifted from his shoulders. Playing in that role he thrives so much in on the left of a midfield three, for the next three months, Pogba was maybe the most in-form player in world football. Every week he was unstoppable in this time. Eventually, Pogba - like many of his teammates - burnt out, having gone from a low-intensity style of football to the opposite and dropped off. He ended the season with 22 goal contributions in the league and was voted into the PFA Team of the Season. He topped United’s players in the vast majority of statistics, showing he was a clear cut above that season.
2019/20 was injury-prone due to the injury issues spoken about earlier, but almost every good period United had that season came with Pogba fit and playing a key role, even out of his usual position. The 20/21 season was similar, with Pogba the player leading United’s title charge around January time after a case of COVID-19 made him difficult to watch in the early months of the season. This title charge collapsed when he went down due to injury against Everton.
That summer at the Euros, whilst he was in the tournament he looked the best player there, dropping some genuinely mind-blowing midfield performances. Even the Switzerland game in the last-16, where Pogba was solely blamed for the Swiss equaliser for losing the ball - despite being given a hospital pass and having 7 teammates still behind him - was one of the best individual performances of the entire tournament. It is not spoken about enough how many goals should have come of the passes he was playing, not to mention the one he scored himself. He also, as the leader of the French side, stepped up for the first penalty and scored in an emphatic fashion. A few months later he would play a key role in helping France to win the Nations League, his second senior international title.
His final season was injury-riddled and a struggle for everyone at United, but his four assists against Leeds United in the first game in front of a full Old Trafford for over a year will go down in memory, and there were other strong performances within this season. It did however become clear that it would be his final season at United, the two parties could simply not continue together any longer. Since his injuries towards the end of the season and over the summer, he has seldom played.
So to sum it up; four league titles (all of which he played a key role in), two Italian cups, a Europa League, a League Cup, a World Cup, a Nations League, four inclusions in his league’s Team of the Season, a Europa League Player of the Tournament, two Europa League Squad of the season inclusions, a Golden Boy award, a World Cup Best Young Player award, a World XI and UEFA Team of the Year nomination, and so much more in terms of memorable performances and moments.
Paul Pogba may have underwhelmed, but the notion that he has failed in his career is one I disagree with heavily. He has still had a very successful career, and aged 30 still has a few more years to add to this if he can put his injury issues behind him.
So Who Was To Blame: Manchester United or Paul Pogba?
The problem with this question is that it presents the options as mutually exclusive, and yet it is one of the foremost questions in the debate surrounding Paul, a debate that this article should have shown to be a hugely overblown one. The reality is that both parties must accept blame, and there are some aspects where neither were even to blame, that things simply just unfolded.
Paul Pogba was unapologetically himself, but often did not recognise where some adaptation and compromise were required at Manchester United. There were many moments where he seemed to lack awareness, or where some of his actions could have either been done differently or used some explanation, for the sake of clarity. He did not quieten his entourage the way many hoped, which further enhanced the media circus that was created around him, and despite having a genuine love for the club and its fans - something that cannot be in doubt - there were times when he came off as very lax, in some cases even disrespectful.
Manchester United completely misused Paul Pogba, something that cannot even be argued for one second. Pogba may be a more ‘complete’ footballer than most in terms of his qualities, yet like all he has tendencies and weaknesses in his game and he was not facilitated well whatsoever. The constantly shifting tactical landscape of the club did not help him, and many others in recent years, to settle on the pitch. Off it, he was often treated very harshly, with the fact that he cost £89m meaning he should be the perfect footballer and not have any kind of weaknesses.
Often it is these expensive footballers who demand facilitation the most, it is something that makes them become so good in the first place. Mourinho’s treatment of Pogba was poor and fans were often unforgiving at even the slightest slip, making no true effort to understand and accept him. He faced abuse on multiple occasions from these fans, something that cannot ever be justified. Criticism was warranted on many occasions, but the abuse was never acceptable.
In every case, the media was the worst culprit in this story. The creation and perpetuation of such ridiculous narratives on a weekly basis have completely warped public perception of Pogba. Many of the things said about him have been at best uninformed, mostly slanderous and often incredibly offensive.
There has almost been a determination to tear Pogba down due to his price tag & his personality not being that of your 'classic' footballers, and a lot of effort put into pointing out, and massively exaggerating, his struggles, without any attention being given to why those struggles existed. Pogba is not the only footballer this has happened to, but he is the highest-profile example of it.
Pogba will also not be the last footballer this happens to, as long as the media remain stuck in their ways. Football has changed, and the media must change with it.
Conclusion
This got long, but it required time to really break down. Paul Pogba and Manchester United were the relationship that everything pointed towards working out eventually, but never truly doing so despite good times. Pogba may not be perfect, and these imperfections have played a part in him not living up to his full potential.
But just as big, if not bigger, a part was played by the lack of on-field facilitation, an off-field agenda that caused so much personal & professional damage almost entirely undeservedly, and some things that could simply have not been controlled.
The fact remains, Paul Pogba has been a great midfielder. He is a unicorn midfield talent, the type that only comes around once in a generation, and has had a very good career - one that is still not over. Off the field he has been a force for good, speaking about the things that matter.
Pogba can, and should, learn a lot from what went wrong in Manchester to maximise the rest of his career. But more importantly, football needs to learn from Paul Pogba, and not make the mistake of failing such a unique talent again.
