Superstar insulting Manchester United shirt

An interesting article in British media outlet, The Guardian, this weekend offers a slightly different perspective on the problems with Paul Pogba at Manchester United.

We all know that Jose Mourinho can be a divisive figure and, from the outside looking in, he doesn’t always appear to get the best out of his players. Where the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have players ostensibly eating out of their hands, Jose’s man management skills seem to have waned since the days when even difficult players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic would have taken a bullet for the Portuguese.

But there is also a strong sense that the player needs to be responsible for his performances. He can no longer hide behind the manager and use it as an excuse for sub par performances.

Pogba came to Manchester United as the most expensive player in the world and, while he remains ridiculously talented, he hasn’t performed with consistent brilliance at United. Worse still, he sometimes appears not to care.

An interesting comparison was drawn in the Guardian article between Cristiano Ronaldo and Pogba. Ronaldo too, agitated for a move in his last year at Manchester United. But there was never a time when he let his professional standards slip.

If Pogba ever wants to be regarded as the best player in the world he needs to start holding himself to account rather than changing his mind about where he wants to play every few years and consequently taking his eye off the ball. Because clubs will get tired of these antics and he will feel the ruthless brunt of the football industry all too soon.

This is a player in his pomp who is getting paid a fortune to turn out for one of the biggest clubs on the planet.

It’s time for Pogba to stop blaming others and start to show why Manchester United paid all that money.