How Paul Pobga told everyone about Juventus transfer a year ago
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is set for a transfer back to Juventus this summer as a free agent after months of speculation over his future.
Pogba has been subject to rumours linking him to PSG and Real Madrid in recent months, while there have even been suggestions at times that he might remain at Man Utd.
The France international star, though, told everyone as much as a year ago on his Instagram account, which has more than 50 million followers, that he planned the next move in his career to be back to Juventus, where he played between 2012-2016.
There was nothing cryptic about his message, which was posted on 9 June, either.
Pogba's Juventus admission
He posted a paid partnership video with adidas on his page, which showed him opening a 5-a-side football pitch near his hometown in the Paris suburbs.
Pogba’s former Juventus team-mate Claudio Marchisio responded to the post by saying: “We need one in Turin too. Go on, come back, go on, come back…”
The World Cup winner’s response unsurprisingly fuelled talk that he will re-join Juve as he stated: “OK Principe [Marchisio’s nickname], next destination is Turin.”
Exactly how serious Pogba was being at the time is not clear, and while the tone of the reply suggests that he was partially joking about the prospect, there is little doubt that he was also half serious about his reply, too.
Pogba has endured a torrid time at Manchester United, where he has been the subject of persistent press coverage due to elevated expectations of his performance levels following his world-record move from Juve.
His return to Turin is likely fuelled by a desire to recapture what were the happiest days of his playing career, as he suggested in a fresh Instagram post on Friday, which was captioned: “Everyone has the right to happiness.”
Nevertheless, it is evident that a transfer back to Juventus has been on Pogba’s mind for quite some time.