The Frenchman spent the summer avoiding the subject in public, and since Euro 2016 has filled his social media accounts with pictures of his holiday in the United States. But the formal announcement of the France midfielder’s £93.2m world record move from Juventus to United gave Pogba licence to dish his feelings about the protracted deal, and to say his farewells.
In a series of comments posted on his Instagram account, Pogba mistook the age at which he left United for 18 – he was 19 on departing in 2012 – but said it was his feelings for the club that drew him back to Old Trafford.
Pogba said: “Thanks Juve and all Juventini. I bring with me a part of you and I leave with you a part of me. Goodbye means nothing, it is the time we spent together that matters.
“Leaving Manchester when I was 18 was a mutual decision between the club and me and the right thing to do at that moment. Now it’s time to go back and forward, Old Trafford here I come! My deepest respect to the clubs who considered having me.
“Juventus will always be a part of me and I will always miss, love and be grateful to the club, the team and especially the supporters. I hope you can respect my decision. The most beautiful part of friendship is to understand and be understood. It is difficult to explain so much in a few lines but I made a decision guided by my heart and nothing else.
“This transfer took so long because it was a huge decision and involved lots of thinking and work. The wait was as annoying to me as it was to you. To all supporters who wrote on my pages about transfer rumours, I have read you all and thank you for the passionate messages. My apologies for not responding before, by law I could not talk.”
Pogba also aired his feelings about his return to Manchester in an interview with MUTV and talked about the lure of working with the new manager José Mourinho. Pogba believes Mourinho can make him a better player.
“I spoke with a lot of players when he was at [Real] Madrid – I spoke with [Alvaro] Morata, [Raphael] Varane - and they all told me: “He is a coach for me - he will make me improve a lot, because he makes you work harder’. I feel this. I spoke with him a few times and he gave me energy and positivity. So I was thinking: ‘Why not?’ I’m sure he can make me improve and make me a better player and a better person.”
Pogba outlined his ambitions at United, which encompass winning the Premier League title: “I want to win the league for the first time with United, because I hadn’t won the league when I left. The Champions League, of course. And, personally, one of my dreams is to win the Ballon d’Or. That will come with time, hopefully, but first I want to win the Premier League, which I have never done.”
The midfielder also had a message for United fans: “The fans are excited to have you in a Manchester United shirt - have you got a message for them, something to say to those who are looking forward to seeing you in action?
“I’m back and I can’t wait to make them happy, to show them that I’m still Paul Pogba but in a different way and to show them I came here not to joke but to make them happy and to make them win the league. That is why I came here.”
Pogba’s world-record signing has been described by Gary Lineker as a “watershed moment” for the Premier League. “The signing of Pogba by @ManUtd is a watershed moment for @premierleague. First time a huge foreign star in his prime has come to England,” the BBC presented and former England striker posted on Twitter. He then added: “Given the wealth of the @premierleague more of the greats will come here and not just to Barca and Real Madrid. Interesting times.”
The former United captain Rio Ferdinand was at the club during Pogba’s first stint at Old Trafford and believes he will not be in awe of the money paid to bring him back. “Paul is a huge talent and someone with the personality to handle that price tag,” Ferdinand told BBC Sport.
“He can do everything. He is still working out the best way to use all of his weapons but, once he does, he will be an absolute monster of a player. Paul told me before he left that he wanted to be the best player in the world. Paul’s character means he will deal with being such a big investment – so that won’t be a problem.”
The United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin posted a picture and a message to his France international team-mate on Instagram. Below an image of the pair, along with Anthony Martial, Schneiderlin wrote: “Welcome back @paulpogba!”
Jesse Lingard, who scored the winner in United’s FA Cup final success in May, won the FA Youth Cup in the same team as Pogba back in 2011 and used Instagram to simply say: “Wait on it...welcome home @paulpogba.”
Meanwhile Juventus have issued a statement on the Pogba transfer deal claiming a “positive economic effect of €72.6m” for the Frenchman they paid £238,000 for in 2012.
Post a Comment