Journalist Fabrizio Romano reports: "Paul Pogba: “My thought process is to show Manchester United that they made a mistake in waiting to give me a contract”, on the Pogmentary.
“How can you tell a player you absolutely want him and offer him nothing? I’ve never seen that”.
That gesture from Pogba was met by 'f*** off' and audible boos. Although Pogba claims to 'love' United, that was a strange way of showing it. The player's marriage with the club has been toxic for some time now and divorce this summer was inevitable. Pogba has failed during his second stint at Old Trafford and he won't be fondly remembered. The '#Pogback' experiment didn't work.
Pogba seemed to have the world at his feet when he re-signed for United in 2016 for a then world record transfer fee of £89million. Pogba had scored 34 goals and notched 40 assists across his four years in Turin and had established himself as one of Europe's finest midfielders. His return to Manchester was a transfer for the romantics, but this fairy-tale rarely looked like having a happy ending.
Pogba cupping his ear to the Stretford End after United scraped a 3-2 win against Dean Smith's doomed Norwich side showed an incredible lack of self-awareness. Pogba has earned millions at United and making such a gesture to his own supporters was a brazen insult.
Pogba continues to insult supporters after leaving the club. Amazon Prime have produced a documentary - it's actually called 'The Pogmentary' - on the player and it will be released this week, but The Athletic have obtained an early glimpse of the footage.
“Did Manchester (United) make a second offer?” Pogba asks his late agent Mino Raiola in the documentary, in footage filmed last year. “Yes. They absolutely want you to stay. For me, the offer doesn’t reflect that," Raiola responds. “They’re bluffing,” Pogba says. "How can you tell a player you absolutely want him and offer him nothing? Never seen that."
The sobering truth is that Pogba needs a reality check. Success is measured by silverware at United and Pogba won the Europa League and the League Cup in six years. Those two trophies were never going to be enough to negate the constant unsettling, disrespectful noise from his camp, his underwhelming performances and his dubious commitment to the shirt.
Just like all dysfunctional marriages, Pogba is not the only party that's at fault. United didn't sell him when they had the chance and incompetence from the hierarchy created an unhealthy environment surrounding the club during his second stint.
Regardless, there have still been players that have delivered on the pitch and that have won the respect of supporters across the last decade, in a period in which the club has wrestled with its identity. Pogba is obviously not included on that list.
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