Once tipped for great things at Manchester United as a teenager, Paul Pogba turns 29 years of age without having truly lived up to the lofty expectations placed on his shoulders.
That is of course only at Old Trafford - while donning the colours of Juventus or the blue of his France national side he has often looked every inch a world beater. Yet there are a whole host of factors that have seemingly blocked his passage into becoming one of the world's best at United.
Having risen through the United youth set-up after joining from French outfit Le Havre in 2009, Pogba made his first-team debut during the latter days of Sir Alex Ferguson's lengthy reign as manager after he was called up for the FA Cup clash at home to Crawley Town.
He was subsequently placed back into the U-18's side, but his performances for United's youth teams meant he was eventually lauded by many as the club's next big thing. Interest from elsewhere subsequently followed, potentially forcing Ferguson to integrate the Frenchman into the first-team fold sooner than he may have liked.
"I mean if we hold Pogba back, what's going to happen? He's going to leave," United's iconic former boss told reporters at the start of the 2011/12 campaign. "You know, in a couple of years' time when his contract is going to finish. So we have to give him the opportunity to see how he can do in the first-team and he's got great ability."
Pogba was rewarded for his efforts with a string of appearances in the League Cup and even made his European debut against Athletic Bilbao before he was finally given the chance to shine in the Premier League months later. The Old Trafford faithful were impressed with what they saw, but talk of Pogba's restlessness over a lack of game-time quickly started to circulate.
After being dropped for a game against Blackburn Rovers in the league, Pogba's United career was seemingly all but over. "When I had, like I’ve said before, the chance to play or to come on in this game against Blackburn, that’s when really I had heartbreak," he has since admitted.
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"There was no midfield here – people were injured, [Paul] Scholes wasn’t there, I think he’d retired already and it was before he came back. Rafael played in midfield with Ji-sung Park and I didn’t come on in this game. We lost the game. I was on the bench warming up and I thought I would come on and it was a big opportunity for me.
"I didn’t and things happen. The manager has a choice in everything but that day is when I had my heart broken. I told Pat [Evra] that was the chance, I’d been training with him and he’d been talking to me and saying I would have a chance. But that happened, I didn’t play and I was kind of upset."
In July of that year, Pogba upped sticks to Turin to ply his trade for Serie A titans Juventus and proceeded to light up Italian football. It was a move which angered Sir Alex Ferguson and left a sour taste at Old Trafford.
"Pogba signed for Juventus a long time ago as far as we're aware. It is disappointing. I don't think he showed us any respect at all, to be honest," Ferguson admitted. "I'm quite happy that if they carry on that way, they're probably better doing it away from us."
The Frenchman won the title in all four seasons he spent at the club, before the bright lights of Old Trafford proved too tempting to turn down again. United's decision to bring Pogba back to the club for what was at the time of his second coming a world record £89million transfer fee raised eyebrows.
Nearly six years in it would be disingenuous to suggest Pogba has done enough to convince his doubters, though he has played his part in securing some silverware. However, a League Cup and Europa League are hardly the kind of honours United fans would have been dreaming of when they saw their former midfielder had returned.
Speaking in 2021, Roy Keane did not hold back in his assessment of Pogba's second stint at the club.
Keane told Sky Sports: "As we’ve all discussed many times over the last few years, Paul Pogba’s a talented player, there’s no getting away from that. But I still feel he hasn’t done enough at Man United. As he mentioned there he fell out with [Jose Mourinho], which was a big problem at the club, but even the last few months, we’re saying he’s been a big influence.
"I think when Man United signed Pogba, it wasn’t to be playing in the Europa League or to be winning the League Cup. I think Paul needs a bit of a reminder why he’s playing for Manchester United. They paid big transfer fee, big wages for the likes of him, for United to be competing for league titles and the Champions League."
At the same time, the last six years have not been without some brilliance from Pogba in a United shirt as well. Those moments have simply been all too fleeting, though he has come in for praise from a midfielder United have long wanted to sign themselves in the form of Declan Rice. The West Ham star even claimed that Pogba was one of the top three opponents he has faced since becoming a Premier League regular.
"He gets criticised but he's honestly one of the top three players I've ever played against," Rice told BT Sport when picking out Pogba. "He's just so strong, so good on the ball. He can take the ball under a crazy amount of pressure and get out of it with an unbelievable bit of skill."
Football is a game of opinions and few players are as divisive as Pogba, but it is notable how Keane - a player of yesteryear - has very few positive things to say about the midfielder, while Rice lauds him as one of the best. Pogba has always struggled to get footballing figures from the past on side, Graeme Souness' analysis of him has become somewhat of a running joke such is the rate in which the Scot demands more from the United star.
Out of contract at Old Trafford come the end of this season, his departure is now expected among the Red Devils hierarchy. Where he goes next is still up for debate, but lingering interest from nearby rivals Manchester City has sparked fears that Pogba could decimate any legacy he has made for himself on the red side of the City. The World Cup winner was accused of disrespecting the club when he left for Juventus, joining City would prompt a reaction unlike any other.
Previous players such as Carlos Tevez have infamously crossed the divide, and United will hope Pogba does not provide a slice of unwanted history. His second departure, however, is looking increasingly inevitable. Whilst he turns 29 as a Manchester United player, he will likely head into his 30s playing elsewhere.
