‘Finished since 2018’ - Graeme Souness SLAMS Paul Pogba AGAIN

Carlo Garganese

• 24 Jan 2024 14:12 GMT
• 3 min read

Graeme Souness has once again slammed long-time nemesis Paul Pogba, saying that winning the World Cup in 2018 stripped the Juventus midfielder of any desire to work hard.

Pogba’s attitude at Manchester United was often called into question by Souness when the Scotsman was doing punditry for Sky Sports, which led to calls from some that the criticism was too harsh and unfair.

However, Souness took aim at the Frenchman again on Wednesday.

What did Souness say about Pogba?

“He had the equipment to be the best midfielder in the world,” Souness told TalkSport.

“I saw a young man that was going through emotions a lot of the time, and that frustrated me. With that physique and that technical ability, he just did not have the right attitude to make him a superstar.

“The worst thing that happened to him was winning a World Cup, because he could turn and say, ‘I am a World Cup winner’. I think at that point, it was him going backwards.”

Pogba has endured a disastrous time of things since leaving Man Utd to return to Juventus in the summer of 2022 on a free transfer.

He missed virtually the entirety of the 2022-23 campaign due to injury, before failing a doping test in August 2023 that has since seen him banned from all football.

Souness’ bitter history with Pogba

Souness, who left Sky Sports last summer after 15 years with the broadcasting outlet, was critical of Pogba from the moment he made his then-record £89 million move from Juventus to United in 2016, claiming ‘the price isn’t right.’

Pogba was labelled as ‘a bit of a Youtuber’ in 2017 by Souness, who had also questioned whether the Frenchman ‘had a footballing brain’ previously and if he was committed to football.

Souness had also described Pogba as ‘a selfish player’ in a column for The Times in 2018, writing: “I often wonder more if it’s about Instagram followers than giving his heart and soul to his football.”

Pogba responded to Souness’ criticism of him in 2020, stating he didn’t know who he was and wasn’t a follower of his critics in the media.

“I didn’t even know who he was, really,” he said at the time. “I heard he was a great player and stuff like that. I know the face but (not) the name. Like I said I’m not someone that watches a lot of (punditry).

“I watch a lot of football but I don’t stay after the game to listen to what they say about why they did this or why they did that. I like to focus on football.”