Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has been opening up on his time at the club.
Paul Pogba’s desire to leave Manchester United three years before he eventually did in 2022 was football’s worst kept secret.
In a new interview Pogba has spoken for the first time about how he explicitly told Manchester United he wanted to leave the club in 2019.
Paul Pogba says he told then boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer he needed to leave the club, who promised to speak to Ed Woodward to discuss an exit. He claimed he even took the matter up with the former CEO personally.
Pogba is quoted via The Mail: “I spoke to Ed to try to make a move but he blocked it. I didn’t want to play for United anymore but I had to be professional. Mentally I wasn’t there and then I got the injuries.”
Solskjaer was stuck with Pogba
It was obvious at the time that Pogba had checked out at Manchester United. And then manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had to deal with the consequences.
The toughest task for a manager is to deal with a player who does not want to be at the club.
And in Solskjaer’s case it was a near impossible task. Pogba was Manchester United’s most high-profile player, and the whole situation was unhelpful.
Solskjaer was left with a player who lacked the heart to continue, became riddled with injuries, while taking up squad space, salary space, and denying transfer funds.
The challenge for United in 2019 was the lack of bids. United were demanding huge money to even consider selling Pogba, after shelling out a world record transfer fee in 2019.
And as a result, Manchester United dug in, leaving an unhappy Paul Pogba as a central part of the squad, letting the manager down.
Ineos showed there was a way
United’s reluctance to sell Pogba for below market value was a somewhat understandable stance. But considering the player’s strength of feeling and desire to leave United, his exit should have been agreed.
Ineos demonstrated this summer that there is a way to get rid of a player who wants out, who the manager does not see a future for; Jadon Sancho.
Despite a lack of substantial bids for Sancho, Ineos made the decision to remove him from the squad, striking a deal with Chelsea.
Chelsea are paying Sancho’s wages, while have also committed an obligation to buy. And importantly for United, it can be addition by subtraction, removing an unhappy player from the dressing room.
Erik ten Hag was given funds to strengthen his squad this summer as he wished, and while the results on the pitch this season have been truly woeful, he cannot hide behind the excuse that he has not been supported off the field.
Solskjaer was actually able to thrive despite the awkward Pogba scenario – but there should have been a world where he was better supported, allowed to sell the Frenchman and sign a replacement.
Bruno Fernandes was the only midfielder Solskjaer signed during his time as manager. If he was allowed to sign Pogba, he would surely have been given greater opportunity to bring in his own players, and potentially achieve more than he did.
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