Where it went wrong for Paul Pogba at Manchester United
Karan Tejwani
- Updated: 5 May 2022 15:47 BST
- 5 min read
Paul Pogba is likely to leave Manchester United this summer as his contract runs out, and he won’t leave with the brightest reputation at the club.
At his best Pogba showed quality worthy of being compared to some the league’s best, but those were glimpses that were too few and too far in between – something that became a source of frustration for the club’s fans.
His last few weeks at the club were the perfect encapsulation of his time at Manchester United: against Norwich, he was jeered off the pitch, with fans seemingly upset over his lack of commitment, while against Liverpool, he went off injured after 10 minutes, with many doubting the injury (something that was later proven by the club).
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Where did it all go wrong for Paul Pogba?
Pogba’s time at the club has been one of confusion – the signing hasn’t worked out as planned, but a lot of it is not his fault.
The club’s inconsistency, as evident by their constant changing of managers and structures, affected the careers of many players and big-money signings, and Pogba is its greatest example.
When he arrived, there was Jose Mourinho and as he leaves, Erik ten Hag is set to take over In between, there has been Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Ralf Rangnick on an interim basis – four bosses in six years is hardly ideal.
It says a lot when Pogba would be more willing to play for France than United, especially considering there are only a little over a handful of international windows every year.
For his country, he’s seen as indispensable and undroppable, regardless of what’s happening in Manchester, and that sort of faith is what he’s rarely enjoyed at Old Trafford.
In turn, that belief from his national team has been rewarded – a starring World Cup performance, as well as contributions to four major tournaments have made him a valuable member of the set-up.
At the same time, the flip side also needs to be considered – his relationship with Manchester United and those close to the club has been frosty.
Pogba’s injury issues haven’t helped, and in that time, comments made to the French media have added fuel to the fire. All this has caused a general feeling of ambivalence from the fans.
It’s a shame – the whole spell had so much potential but ended up feeling like a marriage of inconvenience and it ended up fizzling out to a point where the player will hardly be missed when he is gone.
