Failed transfers: Pogba left Manchester United for free, then cost the club a huge sum, then left again without compensation

Paul Pogba had all the talent in the world and at Juventus he developed into one of the best midfielders ever. He then headed back to Manchester United in 2016, which made him the most expensive player in history at the time. At the time, though, no one knew how it would all turn out and that history would repeat itself.

The French midfielder returned to Manchester United at the age of 23 as a player with a winning mentality, dominating Serie A 4 times in a row with Juventus, and the Italian Cup 2 times in a row. Moreover, working with Jose Mourinho promised a return to the top. Add to that Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has won something everywhere he’s been.

Great numbers at the start

The first season ended fantastically for Pogba and co. Together, they dominated the Europa League, beating Ajax 2-0 in the final, for which the team was tactically well prepared by the Portuguese coach, with the winning goal scored by the pre-season reinforcements.

The team also won the Carabao Cup with a 3-2 victory over Southampton. Pogba was, of course, a member of the starting lineup, despite the minor injuries that plagued him in the season, he scored 51 games, 9 goals and 6 assists.

The next season started with a loss in the European Super Cup against Real Madrid and the French midfielder played almost 15 fewer games, mainly due to a thigh muscle injury that plagued him for a few months.

In some Premier League games he has featured as captain, a great honour for a player who joined the club before last season. In 37 games he scored 6 goals and 12 assists. It looked like his performance was going to soar.

However, the 2018/19 season started for Pogba with disagreements with Mourinho, who made several negative comments about his player in a press conference.

However, the Portuguese was sacked during December and the change of coach has definitely benefited the skilful midfielder. He scored a total of 13 goals in the Premier League, 10 of them under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and in the final showdown he had 16 goals and 11 assists in 47 games.

After winning the World Cup, Pogba looked fresh on the pitch, understanding the ball, setting up chances for his teammates, scoring goals. Another season with a record of 16 goals and 11 assists.

However, the fans have not liked the player’s attitude for some time now. He often looked resigned on the field, his numbers were good so far, but in every game it was completely different. It was as if he was enjoying it one time and not the next.

A turn for the worse

In the 2019/20 season, the French midfielder suffered an ankle injury and missed a significant part of the season, starting just 22 games. And his record? 1 goal and 4 assists. Wayne Rooney has also commented on the situation in several interviews, for example, he was bothered that Pogba and Lingaard were happily dancing in the dressing room after losing games.

Even in the next season Pogba did not follow up at least his earlier numbers. Moreover, he looked lazy on the pitch, disinterested, as if he was not interested in football at all.

He had occasional flashes of brilliance and played some very decent games, but it was one game out of several. Moreover, during the season he again struggled with injuries, once with his ankle, the second time with muscle problems. In the end, it came down to 6 goals and 9 assists in 42 games.

In his last season for Manchester United he played only 27 games, also due to a calf injury and muscle problems. In the first game of the season against Leeds United, he notched 4 assists in a 5-1 win and it looked like a promising season, but the opposite was true. In the whole season he had 9 assists and 1 goal.

The careful reader will have discovered that Pogba won only 2 trophies, and that was in his first season! However, it was expected to be one of the first transfers in the rebuilding of the squad, in the end it was just one of many that are nowadays judged decidedly negatively.

In the end, Pogba once again left for Juventus for free, just as he did in 2012. At the moment, moreover, it looks more like the end of his career than any kind of reboot.

Source: Manchester United