Original title: Rui Sports: The fall of the world‘s No. 1 midfielder: Pogba’s fault OR Manchester United’s fault?
In people’s memory, Pogba’s performance and reputation for the past six seasons at Manchester United have been polarized. There have been those who saw Pogba as a symbol of all that was wrong with Manchester United, but there were also those who saw one of the most talented footballers in the world. Ultimately, Pogba’s return is seen as a transformative signing for United – a record transfer that proves that the best players in the world still want to play at Old Trafford the ball and proved Manchester United’s ambition to challenge for the title. However, after Pogba’s return to Old Trafford, Manchester United have not won too many high-quality titles, and they have only reached the Champions League quarter-finals once. They finished sixth in the Premier League in Pogba’s first season back at Manchester United and are currently sixth in the Premier League before he prepares to leave Manchester for a second time.
So, what does Pogba leave behind at Manchester United? How is his performance on the field? In this regard, ESPN has organized.
There is an ingrained impression of Pogba’s time at Manchester United that he is a “rioter”. He is a problematic player for many managers, and has always been a “troublesome” in the dressing room. Pogba has reinforced that impression since his £89.1m return from Juventus in August 2016. Previously, when he left Manchester United for Juventus, he only had to pay a compensation fee of 800,000 pounds. This dramatic transfer operation made Pogba always the focus of the outside world.
In addition, the outspoken nature of his agent, the late Raiola, and Pogba’s seemingly heartless attitude have also damaged his reputation among United fans, who feel he has no real sense of what to do with the team. affection or commitment. When Pogba walked off the pitch in Manchester United’s home win over Norwich last month, fans chanted “Go away, Pogba!” Pogba also responded, expressing his relationship with United fans. The relationship has broken down.
Pogba will leave the team on a free this summer, and for many Manchester United fans, they will be happy to see him go.
However, sources related to Manchester United have revealed that Pogba’s image within the team is completely different from how the outside world perceives him. He is seen as a leader in the team, he spends time with club staff outside the dressing room, and he clearly understands the responsibilities of playing for United. On one occasion, a Manchester United player refused to give a pre-match interview to the media that held the broadcast rights and then drove off the training ground on his own while the show crew waited to visit him. After learning of the player’s behavior and the trouble it would cause the club, Pogba stepped in and gave an interview, which meant that the Manchester United press officer in charge of the matter did not have to face criticism from broadcasters and higher-ups. Beyond that, there are plenty of other examples where Pogba is the bridge between the team and the club’s staff.
Sources say Pogba is one of the few players who chooses to deal directly with his teammates. Pogba has been the leader of the team until now, and his influence on the dressing room has been largely positive. He was so popular at the Carrington training ground that one could even ignore the things he angered fans and the club’s top brass.
Pogba is huge on social media, with 53.7 million followers on Instagram and 10.1 million on Twitter. There is no doubt that the Red Devils have made the most of his commercial value during his six years at United. Pogba is prominent at the club in terms of major sponsors and partners, but he also sometimes overuses his social media presence. In January 2017, on the day of Manchester City’s home game against Liverpool, he posted an emoji on Twitter, but was mocked and accused of being a deliberate distraction. Because of Pogba’s handball in that game, the team drew 1-1 with the Red Army.
Pogba appeared in a light blue and white shirt during the Manchester derby in April 2018, which also led to him being accused by fans of disrespecting Manchester United. Red Devils star Gary Neville described Pogba’s behaviour as “ridiculous” and scolded him for “not saving himself”. But in that game, Pogba scored twice to help the team beat Manchester City 3-2, silenced those who criticized him, and delayed Manchester City’s pace of winning the title.
While recovering from injury, Pogba went on vacation to places such as Dubai and Miami, and posted vacation photos on social media, which has also been criticized by the outside world. If he had been better and more consistent at United, the episodes wouldn’t have sparked as much criticism, but they did ultimately affect his reputation and what people say about his time at United.
[Signing Pogba back was not a successful deal]
It has to be said that the return of Pogba is a huge failure for Manchester United. Even if you’re one of the rare people on the planet who doesn’t have a prejudice against Pogba, you know why.
First, Pogba was originally from Manchester United’s academy, then let him join Juventus for free in 2012, and finally had to pay a then-record $115.5 million to sign him back. Pogba was by no means an unknown junior, he went from Manchester United to Juventus, and then proved everyone wrong about him before, and he ushered in his peak moment. Back then, everyone knew he was the best midfielder in the world, he joined a team that was better than Manchester United and immediately became a key player. So the deal was wrong from the start, the process was bad, and the result was bad.
With the Bianconeri, the 19-year-old Pogba played 50.6% of his Serie A appearances in his first season, rose to 89.7% in his second season, dropped to 61.7% in his third season, and then picked up again in his final season. to 88.3%. All told, Pogba played well domestically 72.6 per cent of his four seasons at Juventus, winning Serie A every year and reaching the Champions League final in 2015. Although the peak of Pogba’s career had not yet arrived at that time, he was already the mainstay of the giants.
While Pogba brings a lot to Manchester United, he is definitely not the mainstay of the team. During Pogba’s six seasons back at Old Trafford, his appearance rate in the Premier League was 59.8 per cent. The league appearance rates in the first three seasons were similar to those he had at Juventus, 76.2%, 62.9% and 88% respectively. But in the last three seasons, his Premier League appearance rate did not exceed 55%.
It doesn’t really matter how good Pogba is on the court, even the best player in the world, if you play 50% of the time, you won’t be worth more than $100 million.
It is worth mentioning that, apart from Real Madrid’s introduction of Ronaldo and Bell, and the signing of Mbappe by Paris, all other transfer transactions of more than 100 million US dollars have basically failed. In 2018, Juventus signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid for $128.7 million, aiming to chase the Champions League, but they did not achieve their goals in the end, and after Cristiano Ronaldo left the team, they even missed the Serie A championship, but at least Cristiano Ronaldo is for the team Contributed goals and high appearance rate.
Here are some of the players’ domestic league appearances in transfers over $100 million:
Neymar, $244.2 million, from Barcelona to Paris, 48.4%
Dembele, $154 million, from Dortmund to Barcelona, 36%
Coutinho, $148.5 million, from Liverpool to Barcelona, 33.3%
Felix, $139.92 million, from Benfica to Atletico Madrid, 45.1%
Griezmann, $132 million, from Atletico to Barcelona, 75.7%
Grealish, $129.3m, from Villa to Manchester City, 57.6%
Hazard, $126.5 million, from Chelsea to Real Madrid, 22.9%
Lukaku, $124.3m, from Inter to Chelsea, 46.5%
In fact, in many cases, the introduction of high-priced players does not play an important role, and many high-priced players do not have a high appearance rate. While Pogba played more at United than most of the players above, it was still a losing deal for United.
[Managementchaos?Chaosoffthefield?】
Sir Alex Ferguson is the first Manchester United manager to find managing Pogba a challenge.
Manchester United signed Pogba, 16, in 2009, when he was described as the “new Vieira”. But after United lacked the chance to play in the first team, Pogba and his agent made it clear that they would refuse a new contract unless they got more playing time. At the time, old Manchester United teammates such as Ferdinand and Evra tried to persuade Pogba to be patient, but Pogba and Raiola stood their ground and Sir Alex Ferguson refused to budge. So, after making just three first-team appearances, Pogba left Manchester United to join Juventus when his contract expired in 2011-12.
Ferguson revealed in 2015, “We signed Pogba on a three-year contract with a one-year extension option, and we would love to re-sign him. But Raiola’s presence interrupted that. Our first meeting was like a fiasco, he and I were like oil and water, incompatible.”
Although his first spell at Manchester United was short-lived, Pogba returned to Manchester United’s attention in 2013. At the time, United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was keen to re-sign Pogba, and it took three years of negotiations with Raiola to finally reach a deal. When United brought Pogba back to Old Trafford, he was seen as a key player in the team’s revival and he will help the team challenge for honours under Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho and Pogba got along well in their first season together and helped the team win the League Cup and Europa League in 2016-17. In September 2017, Pogba was injured in the Champions League group stage against Basel and flew to Miami while recovering, an act that angered Mourinho. Then, their relationship deteriorated. Pogba was substituted in Manchester United’s loss to Tottenham in January 2018, leaving the pitch in an argument with Mourinho near the touchline. Meanwhile, Sanchez’s move from Arsenal has also affected Pogba’s role in the squad as Mourinho tries to give Pogba more defensive responsibilities, which limits him up front creativity. During the game, Pogba did not strictly follow the coach’s tactical layout, which also led to more friction between the two.
In December 2018, Mourinho was sacked by Manchester United’s top brass following a loss to Liverpool. In the following time, this contradiction between master and apprentice has not been alleviated. When Pogba’s clash with Mourinho left his future at Old Trafford uncertain, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival gave Pogba a reassurance.
Solskjaer has had a good relationship with Pogba as Manchester United’s reserve coach. After Solskjaer became Manchester United’s first-team manager, Pogba’s excellent form helped him get a regular contract. Although Solskjaer and Pogba have a good relationship, Solskjaer has always been unable to position Pogba better. A source said that Solskjaer had originally planned to sell Pogba in 2019 to prepare for the funds to sign a new signing, but he was worried that the funds from the sale of Pogba could not be used to sign the team, so he ultimately did not approve the move. transaction.
Pogba’s career has stalled under Solskjaer. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer affected Pogba and Manchester United as a whole due to a lack of expertise and discipline, resulting in Pogba becoming unstable and injury-prone at the peak of his career. And Solskjaer’s successor Rangnick did the same thing. Pogba made only 14 appearances under Rangnick, scoring one goal. Injuries kept him out of the game for a long time. Pogba limped off the pitch after United’s 4-0 loss to Liverpool last month.
[Comment on Pogba’s Manchester United career]
In the transfer market, attacking players are generally the most expensive, followed by defenders and then midfielders. Of the 50 most expensive transfers ever made, only three were for midfielders in the traditional sense: Pogba, De Jong, Arthur. However, Arthur’s joining Juventus from Barcelona involved “team accounting”, because Barcelona had previously introduced Pjanic from Juventus at a high price.
At Juventus we saw an omnipotent Pogba whose presence made the team better. But at Manchester United, that was not the case. Where exactly Pogba should play is a question that the Red Devils have been struggling with. There is no doubt that it has something to do with the mismanagement of Manchester United. Pogba’s arrival was supposed to balance the midfield, but after his return, United’s midfield was unbalanced.
Arguably, Pogba’s performance at Manchester United is inseparable from his high transfer fee, because such a huge signing fee would require him to become the greatest midfielder of all time. But when playing for Juventus, he doesn’t need to carry such a burden. He has a higher degree of freedom. He can score like an offensive player, and he can also act as the team’s midfield metronome. In fact, Pogba never played to his full potential at Manchester United. But wherever Pogba is next, no matter when he comes on in the game, he could be a key man for the team, but unfortunately United need him to do more and better.
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