The difference in Paul Pogba's attitude towards Manchester United from when he returned to Old Trafford to the months leading to his departure couldn't be much starker.
Pogba will officially leave United at the end of the month, six years on from returning to the club in an £89million transfer from Juventus. The Frenchman's contract will expire and thus he is free to choose his own next destination, with a return to Turin looking the most likely.
Though he is set to leave United on a free for a second time, Pogba is continuing to cause controversy in Manchester after his Amazon Prime documentary, ‘Pogmentary’, was released in which his frayed relationship with the club was laid bare.
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In one clip which sees the playmaker discuss his contract options with his late agent Mino Raiola and lawyer Rafaela Pimenta in the summer of 2021, Pimenta asks him what would make him happy. In response, Pogba accused the club of not caring about him during his injury layoff.
“What makes me happy? To be in the project that I’m involved,” Pogba said. “Here, I had to do something. I came back from injury, they didn’t help me. They didn’t show care, they didn’t care how I was feeling, so I had to go to the national team to get my confidence back.”
Pogba added: “It’s all for the players. They have to feel important in their clubs, and they have to feel important in their teams. If you don’t have that, it’s over.”
The difference couldn't be more obvious when comparing the optimism and happiness Pogba clearly felt when he returned 'home' to Old Trafford in 2016. He said at the time: "I think it’s destiny, I would say it’s destiny. I was meant to come back here. I feel this. I always had this United thing in my heart and that’s why I came back. I’m happy, just happy.
"It was like I’d just came back home. I just went for a holiday, looks like I went for a holiday. I’ve come back home, I’m happy and I see everyone, the same persons. It’s just a great feeling, to be honest.”
Pogba also spoke of his ambition to win trophies: “I want to win titles, I want to achieve things and that’s all – that’s why I came here, just to do this, to become one of the best and to win titles because I know this club has to win titles.
“This club is created to win titles, to win things, to win big things. … I am focused about this and that’s it. I’m just ready to go and work on that and just kill it.”
Unfortunately for Pogba, his belief that United were capable of winning titles was mostly misplaced. Though he did lift the League Cup and Europa League during his second stint in Manchester, the club never came close to lifting the Premier League title again or winning the Champions League.
Pogba clearly came back to United with the belief that the club was in a state to challenge for the biggest trophies but for a variety of reasons he was mistaken.
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