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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Paul Pogba transfer warning sounded as Man Utd star could "destroy" dressing room

World Cup winner Frank Leboeuf has warned clubs against signing Paul Pogba, insisting he could "destroy" a dressing room.

The Manchester United midfielder's existing deal expires this summer and it's believed Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Real Madrid are all interested in signing him.

Pogba has a tremendous CV, winning four Serie A titles, three domestic cups, the World Cup, Nations League and several other trophies during his career.

But he's failed to impress since United re-signed him for a club-record fee in the summer of 2016, winning just two major honours.

And Lebouef - who won the World Cup, Euros and Confederations Cup with France - believes Pogba's high-profile status could cause friction in the dressing room.

Is Paul Pogba overrated? Let is know in the comments below!

Paul Pogba's six-year spell at Manchester United hasn't gone as planned (Getty Images)

"If I was a coach, I don’t think I would take the risk of signing Pogba," Lebouef told BritishGambler.co.uk when asked if the midfielder would be a good fit for Chelsea.

"But at the same time, how could you not want him with the talent that he has?

"I was talking the other day as to whether [Romelu] Lukaku should play against Burnley or not. As a coach you have to manage a dressing room of 30 guys.

"But when you have a striker who cost £100million, you think I have to have him out on the pitch, but you lose the others.

"You have to make sure the star is happy, but also that the second tier is happy. I can see that the dressing room was easier to manage without Lukaku last year.

"Imagine if you added Pogba to that problem - you might destroy the dressing room.

"As logical as [manager Thomas] Tuchel is, he won’t take the risk on Pogba. It’s too risky. Someone like [Zinedine] Zidane can do that - that’s why PSG are trying to hire Zidane.

"They know that only a person like Zidane can sort out the dressing room problems out."

Although Lebouef is unsure whether Pogba is worth signing, he has no questions about the Frenchman's ability.

"It’s absolutely fantastic to see what you can do when you have Pogba in your team, because we all know the talent that he has when he has the ball," he added.

"The problem is as a coach and what do you do when you have Pogba in your squad?t

Pogba hasn't won a trophy at United since their Europa League success in May 2017 (Manchester United)

"The only time that he was consistently fantastic throughout a whole season, was when he played at Juventus.

"For that season, he was completely free to do whatever he wanted, because he had players supporting him in that manner. Yes, the France national team is similar.

"But when it is only one player in [N'Golo] Kante, I still think the national team is unbalanced, so you need two defensive midfielders in order to release Pogba."

Speaking in November, Pogba's agent Mino Raiola - who has previously said his client's time at United was "over" - was reluctant to give anything away about his future.

"It's too early to speak about Paul Pogba's contract," said Raiola. "Let's see what happens. I can't stop anyone from dreaming about him.

"December is the month of dreams... but it is better to not speak about Paul. If some former Man United players don't speak about me and Paul, they won't work anymore."

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