The deficient structures which have hindered Manchester United in recent years have been laid bare in alarming fashion thanks to a new documentary focused on their outgoing star midfielder, Paul Pogba.
For the second time in a decade, the Red Devils are losing the gifted Frenchman on a free transfer at the expiry of his contract this month. That is despite the fact they paid a whopping £89million to re-sign him from Juventus back in 2016, making him the world's most-expensive player at the time.
Fast forward six turbulent years and Pogba is on the cusp of returning to the Italian giants, taking a pay cut to rejoin a team with which he won six major honours in four years, compared to a paltry two with United.
In case there was not enough ignominy in losing a club-record signing for no transfer fee, the 29-year-old has provided a startling insight into the moment which set in motion his second departure from Old Trafford. Back in July 2021, Pogba and his agent - the late, great Mino Raiola - were expecting a second contract offer from Red Devils chiefs.
At the time, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and technical director Darren Fletcher were among those in positions of power; of the trio, only Fletcher remains at the club to this day. Of course, dire on-pitch results in the first half of the 2021-22 season were the principal reason for Solskjaer's sacking, while Woodward - already an unpopular figure among fans - never truly recovered from the European Super League debacle.
But, in case there was any doubt amid the club's five-year trophy drought, the decision-making processes in place at United have been woefully inadequate since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in 2013.
As Pogba recalled in his Amazon Prime documentary, The Pogmentary, the Red Devils were adamant he remained a crucial player with a long-term future at Old Trafford. Yet, when the second contract was put on the table, he and Raiola were flabbergasted at being offered what the player described as "nothing".
Of course, there are two sides to every story and it seems more than plausible that Pogba and Raiola had an inflated view of what weekly wage and other terms should have been included. However, there is no escaping the fact that, ultimately, United left things too late and failed to strike a resolution which could have prevented the World Cup winner walking away for nothing.
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What is especially damning for those who were in key positions in the club at the time is that they had already triggered a one-year extension in Pogba's contract back in 2020. While this appeared to buy United crucial time for future negotiations, all it truly succeeded in was tying down Pogba for what proved to be a final, underwhelming season on his mammoth £290,000-per-week salary.
Summing up the latter stages of the player's time at Old Trafford, his final appearance saw him last just 10 minutes in a 4-0 hammering by Liverpool before hobbling off injured. Things have proved to be just as calamitous in the United boardroom in recent years, leaving new manager Erik ten Hag and CEO Richard Arnold with a mammoth task on their hands as they aim to avoid the mistakes of their predecessors and restore the glory days of old.
