How Pogba fell out of love with football at toxic Man Utd

Carlo Garganese

• 12 Jul 2022 14:00 BST
• 4 min read

There are a number of very particular conditions that need to be in place for Paul Pogba to play at his best.

The first is tactical. Pogba has stated numerous times over the last decade that his best position is on the left side of a three-man centre midfield.

This is the position in which he excelled during his first spell at Juventus from 2012 to 2016. He was granted the freedom to create, roam and push forward without having to be too disciplined defensively.

It is a role that he rarely occupied in his six years back at Man Utd, as he often struggled in a double pivot.

Pogba needs to enjoy himself on the pitch, and he can’t do so in a 4-2-3-1, a 4-4-2 or any system other than on the centre-left of a three-man midfield.

The Frenchman also needs to feel the love and confidence of his manager – and he also needs to trust his coach. At Juventus under Antonio Conte and then Max Allegri – and also with France under Didier Deschamps – Pogba has always been respected. With Allegri in particular, he enjoys a very close relationship.

Pogba is motivated to give his best when he treated well. This was not the case at Manchester United. With Jose Mourinho – like a number of other teammates – he endured a very difficult relationship as the Portuguese often criticised him publicly.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, meanwhile, was a lovely person but could never command the respect of top-level stars like Pogba due to his limited ability as a coach.

By the time last season came along, it was clear Pogba’s time at Man Utd was up and he played through the motions under Ralf Rangnick before injury curtailed his campaign.

And then of course there is the media and the fans, which often go hand in hand.

Pogba often was the scapegoat for all of Man Utd’s problems following his world record transfer from Juventus in 2016.

Yes, he was underwhelming and failed to get close to justifying the €100m-plus outlay on him but the problems at Man Utd are much bigger than one player.

There is the disastrous ownership, the incompetent former CEO Ed Woodward, a dreadful transfer policy and a group of players simply not good enough to challenge for major titles. Not to mention a rookie manager for much of Pogba’s time at United.

But Pogba was constantly lambasted in the media, not just for his performances, but for his perceived poor attitude, how he dressed, what he bought and his personality and lifestyle in general. Sometimes it bordered on racism.

In such a toxic climate, no wonder Pogba became disillusioned and fell out of love with football. And no wonder he didn’t show his best on the pitch.

He made this clear on the day he returned to Juventus on Monday on a free transfer.

What did Pogba say about Juventus return?

“Home Sweet Home! I feel great, it’s an atmosphere I cannot define, but I am very happy and impatient to be back in the Bianconeri jersey again,” Pogba said on Juventus’ Twitch channel.

“I want to rediscover my joy of playing football. I spoke to Allegri, Dybala, Cuadrado, Agnelli and Nedved, so I was always really in contact with all of Juve.

“My heart decided for me and I am sure that I made the right decision. This jersey is everything for me, Juventus gave me the opportunity to be Pogba. Now I want to give back that joy, bringing trophies to a club that deserves only to win.”

Let’s not pretend that Pogba doesn’t share some of the blame for his struggles at Man Utd. His numbers, his injury record and his consistency has not befitted a player of his reputation.

But now he will be happy and at peace on and off the pitch again, we should hopefully once again see the Pogba who established himself as one of the best players in the world.