Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra believes Paul Pogba was re-signed in 2016 in attempt to humiliate Sir Alex Ferguson.
It’s a wild acquisition – but sadly, one that makes sense considering how Pogba initially left the club under a grey cloud after Ferguson had a disagreement with the player’s former agent Mino Raiola.
Pogba had come through United’s academy after joining the club from Le Harve as a 16-year-old, but he left as a hot prospect to join Juventus in 2012.
Ferguson decided to retire the following year, while Pogba established himself as a rising star in Juventus’ midfield alongside the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal.
The French midfielder, who is currently serving a ban from football after a failed drug test, won four Serie A titles with Juventus before returning to United for a then-Premier League record transfer fee of £89 million.
While his return was met with excitement from United fans, Evra reveals he wasn’t convinced the club’s owners, the Glazers, were bringing him back for the right reasons.
Evra also knew Pogba from the time they spent together at Juventus.
Speaking to the Stick to Football podcast, Evra said: “Manchester United brought Paul Pogba back because they wanted to humiliate Sir Alex Ferguson. I told Paul to not go back because he wanted Real Madrid and Madrid wanted him, but Florentina Perez didn’t want to pay the money.
“His agent called United, and he signed with him without telling me. The club was happy because they were selling shirts, you know the kids love Pogba – it was more commercial than anything on the pitch.”
In hindsight, it’s no wonder former manager Jose Mourinho had such an issue with Pogba before his time at United came to an end. The midfielder was regularly criticised for his performances on the pitch.
“It’s not about being a fan of Pail Pogba, it’s about being his big brother,” Evra added, in response to the criticism his compatriot was subjected to during his time in England.
“It’s about protecting him. I was harsh with him when I joined Juventus.
“One day, he said to the press, ‘I deserve to win the Ballon d’Or’. I was like, ‘Wait a minute, did you ever hear [Frank] Lampard saying that, did you ever hear [Andreas] Iniesta, Xavi or whatever?’ And, I’m like, ‘Calm down, you’re not ready for that.’
“With Paul, you see him like that, but inside, he’s not that strong and he’s protecting himself, and that’s why I tried to protect Paul, because sometimes it [the criticism of him] was unfair. People were talking more about his hairstyle or his dancing than judging him on the pitch. Even sometimes he wasn’t playing, they were saying, ‘United lost because of Paul Pogba’.
“I feel like sometimes the press are not being fair with Paul Pogba. I can give you an example of when he played against Liverpool for the first time.
“The night before the game, I was on FaceTime to him, and I saw a lot of people in his room and he was signing shirts, so I asked him if he was ready for the game, and he said that he was.
“I remember that it was one of the worst games he played, so I spoke to him after the game, and he told me that I was right, and he wasn’t focused. But it was his entourage, his entourage let him down.”
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