Gary Neville has fired back at Paul Pogba after the Frenchman claimed that Man Utd made a mistake in not offering him a new deal.
The midfielder departed Old Trafford at the end of the season with his contract expiring. It is the second time that he has left the Red Devils for nothing having previously been released in 2012. He is expected to rejoin former side Juventus but ahead of any transfer Pogba himself has suggested that the motivation to prove the Red Devils’ wrong is a motivating factor ahead of a move.
Speaking during his recently released Pogmentary, the World Cup winner said: “My thought process is to show Manchester [United] that they made a mistake in waiting to give me a contract. And to show other clubs that Manchester had made a mistake in not offering me a contract.”
Since those comments, Red Devils icon Gary Neville has given his reaction. Speaking on his official TikTok page, the former defender has claimed that Pogba is welcome to have his own opinion but that his departure following a number of inconsistent seasons had left him feeling uneasy.
He said: “I’m not bothered about Pogba’s comments to be honest with you. I think that once a player has left, he can say whatever he wants. Fine, no problem.
“But I don’t think he has performed well over the last six years. I don’t think the club have performed well with him either, or handled him well. It’s been a partnership that, to be fair, has failed on both sides so that is what you’d have to say.
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“There is no winner when a player leaves after six years with the money that has been spent and very little has been won. The player leaves dissatisfied and the club are dissatisfied with it as well.
“It leaves a bad taste in the mouth because it’s the second time it’s happened. You wish him all the best in the future at Juventus.”
Pogba was of course brought back to United for a then world-record £89m in the 2016 summer transfer window. Alongside new boss Jose Mourinho, the Frenchman’s arrival was expected to usher in a new period of dominance at Old Trafford.
Things started promisingly with the Red Devils lifting three trophies in Pogba’s debut season - the Community Shield, the Carabao Cup and the Europa League - but the club have not won any silverware since. In the end, Pogba departed United having made 225 appearances during his second spell at the club.
In that time, he scored 39 goals but was never consistently at his best due to periods of patchy form and frustrating injury complaints.
