3
Rio Ferdinand has revealed the brutal treatment Paul Pogba received from Paul Scholes during their time together at Manchester United.
All three trained together during the Red Devils’ 2011/2012 season, with Scholes having come out of retirement and Pogba on the fringes of the first team.
The Frenchman could not nail down a regular spot under Sir Alex Ferguson, featuring only a handful of times under the legendry manager before moving to Juventus on a free transfer.
And it seems that Scholes ensured that Pogba had a baptism of fire when training with the first team, with Ferdinand telling BT Sport the details.
“You know young lads when they come over, the managers do like to see them get kicked about,” Ferdinand recalled.
“Paul Pogba was a young, super gifted player; Scholesy, in particular used to just launch him. Whether he used to see him as a threat I don’t know but he used to launch him, just kick him.
“He was so big and strong Paul and with that great footwork and everything and he would hold Scholesy off and Scholes would just kick through him, and he’d lay on the floor and go like, “What’s going on!?” We just kept on playing, but that’s part of it, it’s character building.”
Whether Pogba felt the same way is anybody’s guess, although it does not seem to have done him any harm.
The France star spent four excellent years in Turin, winning the Serie A title at every time of asking.
His return to Manchester United was less impressive, with his struggles for consistency, fitness, and professionalism ultimately costing him any chance of a positive relationship with the Old Trafford faithful.
He left – again – on a free transfer to – again – Juventus last summer, and has had a torrid second first season in Italy.
His first match of the season came on February 28th as a result of injury problems and his minutes total for the term currently stands at forty.
Follow The Peoples Person on Twitter or Instagram for all the latest news as it happens and to join in the conversation.
