SPORT / FEATURE
Pogba ponder
Will Man United midfielder stay or go?
Published: Jul 22, 2021 05:43 PM
Paul Pogba (right) shoots against Switzerland on June 28. Photo: VCG

Paul Pogba (right) shoots against Switzerland on June 28. Photo: VCG



What is the future of Manchester United's Paul Pogba?

The player returned to the club that he left on a free transfer as a teenager for a world record fee and much fanfare back in 2016, but every summer since seems to have brought that same question.

This summer is no different as reports suggest that the player is once again looking for a move and is willing to let his contract, which expires next summer, run down to facilitate leaving Old Trafford for a second time.

Reports in France suggested that a decision was to be made in the "coming week" on where he would play next as his super agent Mino Raiola negotiates a move away.

The club have made it clear that talks on a new deal for the player who will become a free agent next summer have long begun, with Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saying in May that Pogba would not need to be sold this summer.

"I have always said with Paul that I enjoy managing him, I enjoy coaching him, I enjoy talking to him and I also enjoy challenging him because he is a winner," the Norwegian, who also managed Pogba in the United reserves, told the press.

"He wants to be better and that's why he listens. You can see he's enjoying himself here as well."

However, there is uncertainty from the Pogba camp and it has long been this way.

"I can say that it's over for Paul Pogba at United," Raiola told Italian media back in December last year.

"Paul is unhappy with United as he is no longer able to express himself in the way that he would like and as he is expected to. Paul needs a new team, a change of air.

"He is under contract for the next 18 months and it will expire in the summer of 2022."

That came just four months after the super agent told a very different tale.

"Pogba is key player for United, they have an important project and he's 100 percent included. United will not accept any bid on this summer to sell Pogba," Raiola told an Italian reporter.

"He is not the type to make controversy, especially in a moment where you have to stay calm and see how it turns out. We will deal with the renewal calmly, without stress. We will continue to talk about it."

Notorious agent

Raiola is a master of mistrust, mystery and misdirection. Some reports suggest that he is masterminding a move to PSG, others say that he is arranging a return to Juventus. Barcelona and Real Madrid swap deals have also been put out in the press.  

At PSG, Pogba would unite with international teammate Kylian Mbappe, a player who he has struck up a relationship with on and off the pitch, while Juventus have rehired his old manager Massimiliano Allegri, the man who has got the best out of Pogba so far.

One man who wants to see some certainty is former Red Devils midfielder Paul Ince.

"Pogba hasn't signed a new United contract, and we don't know what's in his mind," he told Goal. "If he decides to stay, they should offer him five years, you can't have annual disharmony with a player saying he wants to leave. 

"If you're staying, stay and commit, show what a world-class player you are. If not, leave and let United use the money to bring in others.

"We've seen glimpses of Pogba's true talent for France, and United occasionally. He performed very well at the Euros, but if you compare the French team with United's, he's playing with better players there.

"He came to United for big money, to be a talisman, but it just hasn't worked out. If he gets back to his best, and United can put a couple of players with him, like Bruno Fernandes, I'd like to keep him.

"When Pogba plays for France, he's in a holding position with N'Golo Kante. He gets more of the ball, and changes games. We don't always see that at United."

The national team

Pogba's France form has seen him win the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018 and star at the Euro 2020 tournament this summer, being nominated for the best goal. The player has previously expressed his delight in playing for his country.

"The France team is a breath of fresh air, the group is exceptional, it's magic," he told French broadcaster RTL in November. "It's not that in the club we don't have fun, but here it's not the same."

His international boss Didier Deschamps had earlier told reporters of his view on Pogba at United. "He is in a situation with his club where he cannot be happy, neither with his playing time nor with the position he is playing."

Later on Deschamps added that his France form should make his club situation better.

"Paul is a top-level player and I hope what he did with us will be useful to him when he gets back to his club," he said.

United, with Pogba in decent form, finished second in the English Premier League last season and made it to the final of the Europa League. 

The club is seen as on the up for the first time in the five years since he returned.

Even still United have their own problems in midfield, no matter what happens with Pogba - something that Ince pointed out.

"Whether Paul Pogba goes or stays, Manchester United need another world-class midfielder. As much as I like Scott McTominay, and he's going to get better, he's still learning. They need someone world class now.  

"There are so many games to play in the Premier League and Champions League, so you need a big squad." 

Losing Pogba could see them being able to bring in a couple of players to that end but also lose a player that they are yet to see the best of. The dilemma continues.