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Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has said that he was not shown love and appreciation by supporters during his time at Old Trafford.
Pogba re-joined United back in 2016 for a then-world-record fee of £89million.
The Frenchman however failed to live up to expectations and justify his massive price tag. Inconsistency and injuries plagued Pogba’s second stint at United.
He returned to Juventus last summer. The 2022/23 season was a tumultuous one for Pogba.
His campaign was scuppered by injuries which limited him to making only one Serie A start. He had to be operated on at the start of the season.
Pogba granted an interview to Views and discussed his time at United and what drove him to leave England.
The World Cup winner said, “When I left Manchester [for the first time], I was young. And when you’re young, you want to prove something. I came to Juve, to a fairly young Italian club, it was a big test for me. But I immediately saw the love of the supporters.”
“I saw the love of the club. I really liked how they worked and learned a lot. I went back to Manchester because I hadn’t finished my work there. I said to myself ‘I really want to play with the A’s [the first team]’. I did it and it was a goal achieved for me.”
Pogba remarked that he while he did not win the Premier League during his second spell at United, the club won other important trophies.
He pointed out that he returned to Juventus because the Italian giants pushed for him the hardest.
“And really the love from the fans, the love from the club that I get, I didn’t get that in Manchester. I was quite surprised when I came back to England, already with the transfer I was given a label. It was quite sad.”
Nevertheless, Pogba indicated that he still loves United. Both the Red Devils and Juventus helped him grow.
He added that his heart made him choose United and Juventus.