Paul Pogba’s parting with the Manchester United fans has been less than amicable, but his recent comments deserve some consideration.
The Frenchman’s performances towards the end of his six-year second stint lacked vigour and enthusiasm. The buck stops with the player on the pitch, ultimately, and putting in anything less than 100 per cent is not acceptable.
Fans noticed this and towards the end of the season they showed their displeasure with the 29-year-old. In reaction to expletive shouts at the end of the 3-2 April win over Norwich, he cupped his ears to supporters - a visible picture of the player-supporter divide that had been present for a while.
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In a recent interview, Pogba seemed to infer that he wishes 'to be loved' at his next club, thus suggesting this was not the case at United. "Everybody wants to feel loved, everyone needs that in your soul to feel appreciated,” he said.
“Sometimes you just don’t feel yourself, that can happen, just someone 'it’s alright, it’s okay', even the people that were on the bench they give you a push and it’s important, important to feel it from your teammates because you can bring it up also.”
This lack of team cohesion may not be nice for United fans to hear but in truth, they know it’s indicative of years of turmoil within the club, despite their best efforts to make Pogba feel at home. During March’s England internationals, Luke Shaw let slip the truth of the behind-the-scenes disconnect.
“It's always important to feel like you're wanted. Especially here, I always feel that,” he said, before quickly clarifying: “I'm not saying I don't at United, but especially here, the way things are, I feel wanted, I enjoy my football."
This came after Zlatan Ibrahimovic slammed United for their dealing of Wayne Rooney during his exit. In his new book, he claimed the club treated the hero in a way as if he had “never existed” - and this was back in 2017.
Erik ten Hag should listen to and consider Pogba’s latest comments. The World Cup winner joins a lengthy line of United players who felt unloved while at United since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.
If it wasn’t obvious after this season, Pogba has made it crystal clear that Ten Hag’s first task is to instil a team togetherness above all else. It may not be a quick process given the number of years a spirit of unease has been allowed to fester within the club.
But his track record with his squads at Ajax - and even former players - combined with the backroom staff changes that have occurred do make for a promising picture. The board’s role in this will be to give him enough time to turn it around.
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