Now it’s official! Pogba’s Man Utd career is over
Carlo Garganese
- 9 Nov 2021 14:22 GMT
- 4 min read
It was already highly unlikely that Paul Pogba would sign a new contract at Manchester United. Now it is impossible.
The news on Tuesday that Pogba had suffered a thigh injury on international duty with France was just the latest sorry chapter in a Man Utd story that has arguably had more downs than it has had ups.
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Pogba picked up a thigh injury during training as France were preparing for their World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Finland.
He sustained the problem during a shooting drill at Les Bleus’ Clairefontaine training centre.
The moment Paul Pogba injured himself in France training #mulive [@RMCsport] pic.twitter.com/vKxxxUU2ul
— utdreport (@utdreport) November 8, 2021
According to multiple reports, Pogba will be ruled out of action for at least six weeks but potentially for as many as 10 weeks.
This means that Pogba, who still had one game of his domestic suspension to run, will almost certainly not play again in 2021. At worst, it is possible he will not return to first-team football until the end of January.
That would mean Pogba will sit out 15 games between the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
He will miss a crucial run of fixtures that includes an away trip to Villarreal in the Champions League and key Premier League clashes with Chelsea and Arsenal.
With Man Utd on a miserable run of form and already five points off the pace for the top four, this was the last thing that under-pressure manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needed.
When does Pogba’s Man Utd contract expire?
But looking further ahead, this injury almost certainly spells the end of Pogba’s Man Utd career.
His contract expires at the end of the current season and there has been no progress made at all between the two parties to extend the deal.
Pogba was understood to already be planning to join a new club on a Bosman transfer next summer, with Juventus, Real Madrid and PSG considered the three front-runners for his signature.
There is little chance of Man Utd attempting to reignite talks with an injured Pogba who has lost his first-team place in recent weeks and is on over €17 million (£15m) a year.
Had Pogba stayed fit and suddenly embarked on a run of world class form between now and January, perhaps Man Utd could have been convinced.
Meanwhile Pogba, and his notorious agent Mino Raiola – no doubt seeking a final big pay day for his 28-year-old client – know that the midfielder needs to leave for the good of his career.
There is no clarity over what the long-term plans are at the club – from the boardroom to the dugout – with Ed Woodward set to leave and Solskjaer’s own position uncertain.
By the time Pogba returns from injury, he will already have been able to legally negotiate with interested parties over a Bosman move.
Perhaps even, Man Utd may be convinced into selling him for a small fee in January rather than lose him for nothing for the second time in Pogba’s career.
Either way, it is safe to say that Pogba’s injury means that this undoubtedly be his last season at Man Utd.
