Patrice Evra does not think Paul Pogba will sign a new contract at Manchester United.
Paul Pogba is out of contract at the end of the season and looks set to leave Man Utd as a free agent for the second time in his career.
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Ralf Rangnick has already cast further doubt on the Frenchman’s future by reiterating the club should be under no pressure to convince anyone to stay, while he also questioned the decision to let him travel to Dubai to recover from an ongoing thigh injury.
Pogba is now back in England after speaking with the German coach, but, with his current deal expiring on June 30, he has shown no inclination to sign a new contract.
Three years ago the former Juventus man infamously confessed it was ‘time for a new challenge’ as he promoted his personal brand in Japan, and his agent, Mino Raiola, admitted later that year he was ‘sorry’ not to have engineered a transfer to Real Madrid.
At the end of 2020 agent Raiola also claimed it was ‘over’ for Pogba at United and outlined his intention to broker a transfer last year which never came to fruition.
Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra states that the Manchester United supporters will need to prepare to see Pogba walk in a couple of months as an extension between the two sides is complicated.
Furthermore, he adds that Pogba seems to have a breath of fresh air when playing for France.
“Paul [Pogba] doesn’t feel loved in England, especially by former players,” he told L’Equipe.
“A lot of people think he should play better but I also see gratuitous criticisms about his haircuts or his clothes.
He further added that Pogba seems to have a breath of fresh air when playing for France.
Pogba has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, PSG and Juventus as he is free to sign a pre-contract agreement this January to join another club during the summer.
How has Pogba fared in Manchester United’s Shirt?
Man United made Pogba their record signing in 2016, a transfer which former manager Jose Mourinho referred to “be at the heart of this club for the next decade and beyond”.
Pogba’s time in the red side of Manchester hasn’t quite been the fairytale return United fans hoped for so far as they have had only fleeting glimpses of his undoubted ability.
Pogba is a superb footballer and one of the best players in the world on his days.
However, he has done little to benefit Man United who have failed to see the Frenchman at his consistent best. He will always carry that with him, I am sure.
But whenever I watch him play for France, I begin to wonder just whose fault all that really is.
Pogba was at his scintillating best for his national team in Russia, as the French captured their second World Cup in 2018.
He was a pivotal part of Didier Deschamps team starting alongside N’Golo Kante in a no-nonsense defensive midfield.
He runs France’s midfield with energy, intelligence and great passion. He’s a fantastic passer of the ball both short and long and can make ground quickly, use the ball off either foot and scores goals, good ones.
At United that rarely seems to happen. Pogba seems unsure of his role and often tries to over complicate things. As such he makes mistakes. Trying too hard to impress? Maybe.
Pogba has won the Carabao Cup and the Europa League in four-and-a-half years at United, but hasn’t been close to a Premier League or Champions League title in his second stinct with the club and one of his highlights was scoring in the Europa League final win over Ajax in 2017.
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He was an ever-present in the team throughout the competition, starting all 14 games en route to the showdown with the Dutch side, as United looked to add one of the few trophies they had never acquired to their cabinet.
Speaking on his Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand said:
“The biggest thing for me is that when Pogba leaves this football club, which he is going to at some point here, if it’s this summer he leaves this summer, people will go, ‘Oh, he was a failure.
He was this, he was that’.”But I would say that it’s been a failure of the club as well. Because when you see him for France, what he does for France, you can’t tell me it’s not there.
So when you spend the money you spent on someone like that you build around him and you put the team in a position that he’s going to actually be able to produce his best football.
“I don’t think that any manager has been able to unlock him in a red shirt in the Man United team.”
Ferdinand added that Pogba ‘wants to win at Man United’ and wants to be ‘known as a great player’.
However, Ferdinand revealed his bombshell claim that: “I wouldn’t commit if I was him. I’ve got to be honest, I wouldn’t.”He added
“The reason why I wouldn’t commit if I was him is because, well they haven’t got the best out of me yet what am I going to waste any more years here for if they’ve not got the best out of me before”
I don’t care who you are… Ronaldo, he’s on his own. But every other player needs to be put in a system to be able to perform to their best capabilities. That’s it, simple as that. And he hasn’t been put in the best positions and the best place.
“It’s not all managers’ fault, trust me, Paul has to take some responsibility as well. That’s a given, but it’s not all Paul.”
With just 12 months left on his contract, talks of a move away for the Frenchman at the end of his deal continue – Paris Saint-Germain his most likely destination, given their reported interest last year.
PSG already have a wealth of midfield options, though, including former team-mate Ander Herrera, Euro 2020 winner Marco Verratti and Leandro Paredes.
While Pochettino now also has Georgio Wijnaldum to call upon, Pogba would add undoubted quality to the French giants in every midfield aspect.