Paul Pogba was involved in a public display of dissent towards Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri after telling his manager to 'calm down' during the weekend's 2-0 Serie A win against Atalanta.
Pogba was criticised by Allegri just minutes after being brought onto the pitch, with the French midfielder losing the ball and Juve surrendering possession as a result. Allegri told Pogba off as a result of mistake, before being told to 'calm down' by Pogba, who rejoined the Italian club last summer after leaving Manchester United.
Allegri revealed details of his conversation with Pogba in a post-match interview, telling Sky Italia: "With Paul’s quality and characteristics, he cannot lose the ball in those situations. He told me to relax, but there’s no relaxing, we needed to keep the ball at that moment."
It has been far from a fairytale return for Pogba at Juventus, with The Bianconeri having endured a tough season by their high standards amid a period of transition. During his first spell at the club between 2012 and 2016, Pogba won four league titles with Allegri and played in the Champions League final in 2015.
The 30-year-old was hit with six-month injury lay-off upon his return to Turin, with a knee injury leading to surgery which ruled him out of the World Cup before a ball had been kicked in the season. Since his comeback in February, Pogba has yet to play 90 minutes in a match, leading to questions surrounding his future career prospects.
In March, Pogba was dropped for a Europa League match for disciplinary reasons, indicating a discord between player and manager. Pogba was just two matches into his return from injury and was backed in dropping the player by club bosses after he was late to a team meal.
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Allegri has spoken publicly about how the Pogba of old is not the player he is currently working with, but has also explained how these things can be 'normal' with a footballer returning from a long-term injury. Speaking ahead of a Serie A clash with Bologna on April 30, Allegri said: “Pogba has been idle for a year. And he’s not in the best condition to play a game.
“I would like to have back the Pogba of when I first coached him, but that’s not the case at the moment. Usually, the longer someone is out, the longer it takes to recover. There are studies. Everything is normal.
“It’s not easy to play 30 games at Juventus or 40. Even the good ones… Once, with Buffon, he told me: 'I arrived in my first year at Juve and I didn’t understand anything, in my second year I didn’t realise'.
“Juve are a unique thing, there are the pressures, the stuff…. There are times of growth. We must continue and move forward, not losing sight of the goal. Now is the most difficult moment, it’s now."
