Juventus have officially confirmed the return of Paul Pogba, claiming he arrives back in Turin as a “man and a champion” - but opted to not mention his time at Manchester United.
The Red Devils’ record signing, who is back at the Serie A giants for his second stint, ended his latest at Old Trafford earlier this summer. Signed for £89million back in 2016, the United academy graduate failed to ever live up to his fee, becoming the focal point of a team defined by its mediocrity.
During his six years back in Manchester, Pogba won the Europa League and EFL Cup, but failed to inspire his side to anything like a Premier League title challenge. And for the second time, the Frenchman declined to sign a new deal, enabling him to leave for Juve on both occasions.
He returns to the Old Lady as a serial winner during his time in Italian football, winning the Scudetto in every season he was there, as well as two Coppa Italias and reaching a Champions League final. On the international stage, Pogba also achieved major honours, helping France to the World Cup in Russia four years ago.
It’s perhaps not a surprise then, that in their statement welcoming the midfielder back to Juventus, his disappointing time at United isn’t referenced at all.
“When we say goodbye, after a wonderful adventure lived together, in a corner of the heart there is always a little hope of seeing each other again, sooner or later,” the statement on the club’s official site reads.
“With Paul it was just like that. In 2016 our paths separated after 4 incredible years. Years in which that talented young French boy of less than 20 years made his debut in the First Team, and after less than a month he scored his first goal.
“Years in which we had learned to hold our breath every time we saw him load the shot from outside: we knew how it could end, and often ended in a roar of joy (to be precise, from outside the area, Paul scored 14 times in 4 seasons of Serie A.
“Years in which Pogba became a crazy champion, winning a lot in the black and white jersey, touching the Champions League in 2015, providing 12 assists only in his last season in Turin, leaving with a loot of 34 markings, to which to add the beauty of 32 assists, for a total of 66 goals that saw him protagonist.
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It continues: “Then we said goodbye, and in the meantime he consecrated his talent and his power, also becoming World Champion with France in 2018.
“We said goodbye, but we never really forgot: there is something ancestral in the call of home, that something that in the end, after a thousand adventures, makes you come back.
“Paul is back in Turin, he left as a boy, he returns to be a man and a champion, but there is one thing that has not changed: the desire to write other new unforgettable pages, together. We couldn't be happier: Pogba is back with us.”
