SHOULD UNITED RETAIN
PAUL POGBA?
by Silvio Scicluna
And he hit the ground running in his first season back. He was a midfield powerhouse and helped United to League Cup and Europa League triumphs. The second season was less successful although it has to be said that a hamstring injury early on did derail his progress somewhat. Worryingly though, the first signs of disharmony with Mourinho began surfacing and there were instances when he was criticised for not fulfilling his defensive duties and eventually dropped. The third season started well enough with Pogba scoring plenty of goals, penalties mostly, and generally carrying the team in
J
ust as I was starting to prepare to write this article, as if to inspire me further, agent Mino Raiola has just given an exclusive interview to Sky Sports. For those of you who don’t know who Raiola is, he’s the super‑agent whose prized client is none other than our mercurial Frenchman Paul Pogba. And the answer to the question in the article title can only be answered by taking a holistic perspective that includes Raiola in the package. Cast your minds back to the close season of 2012. Many believe that it was Raiola who convinced Pogba to leave United at the end of his contract and join Juventus for a nominal fee. Sir Alex Ferguson wrote in his autobiography of his dislike for Raiola and the difficulties he encountered in his dealings with him. And so it was that Pogba moved to Turin that summer and to be fair, the move was an unparalleled success. One that really catapulted him on to the world stage and brought him trophies and plaudits aplenty. And with every spectacular goal Pogba scored and with ever y match winning performance he gave throughout his four years in Italy, the angst each United fan felt was not insignificant. It always hurt to
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see the one who got away, the prized catch who slipped through the net flourishing in another team’s colours. So when in the summer of 2016, the rumours that United were seriously considering buying Pogba back started to gather pace, many United fans were excited. And, true enough on the 8th of August, Paul Pogba became the fourth and final summer signing of Jose Mourinho’s first season at Old Trafford. The prodigal son had returned. Going back to Raiola’s interview, in all fairness he admitted that when Pogba re‑joined United in 2016, it was because the player himself insisted. According to his agent, there were many other clubs, big clubs, who wanted Paul that summer but Pogba had eyes only for United. Because this is what we have to keep in mind. This is what many are not factoring in when discussing the merits or otherwise of keeping Paul Pogba at Manchester United. He loves the club. He came back because, for him, Manchester is a spiritual home. Carrington was the place where he honed his undoubted talents and where he forged friendships for life with his fellow academy graduates.
