Paul Pogba has hit out at Manchester United in his recent documentary following his second departure from the club, and it’s not the first time he’s voiced his opinion.
The France international has always split opinions since returning to Old Trafford. The midfielder struggled for consistency after joining the club in 2016, with his attitude and off-field antics raising eyebrows.
Pogba’s natural ability has never been in question, perhaps leading to the high amount of criticism as the raw talent was there. But the player himself has never shied away from hitting out at those who he has not agreed with. Mirror Sport takes a look at five occasions, including his most recent contract comments…
2022: Contract drama
Pogba left United this summer as a free agent, deciding not to renew his stay at the Theatre of Dreams despite negotiations lasting over a year. The former Juventus star has since been vocal in how he would not have minded extending his contract, but wanted a bigger offer with other guarantees.
Speaking in his new Amazon Prime documentary named The Pogmentary, he said: “My thought process is to show Manchester (United) that they made a mistake in waiting to give me a contract. And to show other clubs that Manchester had made a mistake in not offering me a contract.”
2021: Mentality slammed
After throwing away a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 to Leicester City last year, Pogba laid into his teammates. The midfielder labelled the goals as ‘stupid’ and even fired an underhand shot at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer by suggesting that he was not learning from prior mistakes.
In the post-match press conference, Pogba said: “We deserved to lose. To be honest, we have been having these kind of games for a long time. We have not found the problem, conceding easy goals, stupid goals. The players need to be more mature, play with more experience and arrogance in a good way. We need to find something, we need to change.”
The enraged rant ended with Pogba claiming: “We need to find the right mentality and the right tactic. Stick with it and resolve the problem.” Solskjaer did not agree with the criticism of the team and hit back in his conference.
2021: Mourinho feud reignited
It is no secret that Jose Mourinho and Pogba’s relationship was a mixed bag. The former Chelsea boss appeared to relight the fire in the stomach of his midfielder, but then it all went sour.
Mourinho stripped Pogba of vice-captaincy and appeared to lose patience with the playmaker, so when he left The Theatre of Dreams it was much to the relief of Pogba. Speaking about the adjustment from Mourinho to Solskjaer, the midfielder left nothing to the imagination of how he felt.
“What I have now with Ole is different, he wouldn't go against the players," he told Sky Sports. "He wouldn't go against the players. "Maybe Ole wouldn't pick them, but it's not like he puts them on the side like they don't exist anymore. That's the difference between Mourinho and Ole.
"Once I had a great relationship with Mourinho, everybody saw that, and the next day you don't know what happened. That's the strange thing I had with Mourinho and I cannot explain to you because even I don't know. So, yeah."
2019: ‘Exit’ admission
On a tour of Asia in 2019, for promotional purposes, Pogba decided to take the opportunity to reveal he was looking for an exit. Though, as we know, it fell on deaf ears – though Barcelona and Real Madrid were very interested at the time.
The 29-year-old was asked about the speculation linking him away, and he only fuelled the fire. He told reporters: “Like you said, there is a lot of talking and a lot of thinking as well.
"For me, I have been for three years in Manchester and have been doing great, some good moments and some bad moments, like everybody. Like everywhere else. After this season and everything that happened this season, with my season being my best season as well... I think for me it could be a good time to have a new challenge somewhere else.
"I am thinking of this - to have a new challenge somewhere else." United certainly won’t have been pleased with the off-season comments, though now in hindsight may regret not cashing in on their playmaker given the interested parties knew he was valued at £150million, according to reports.
2019: Shots at the British pundits
Pundits all over the world were critical of Pogba throughout his time at United, though it appears the British were louder than the rest. Roy Keane and Graeme Souness were perhaps the most scathing in their assessments of the midfielder, and following United’s 4-0 defeat to Everton they hit out at each and every Red Devils player – with Pogba being ‘hung out to dry’.
And although it appears Pogba heard the critique, he had become accustomed to it. He told RMC Sport: “Criticism from British pundits? No worries. They are paid to say things in front of the camera.
“I’m just on the pitch. They can say what they want, they are paid for it. I’m not paid to talk. I get paid to be on the field and fight for my team. That’s all.”
