Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba is a French footballer who plays for Premier League club Manchester United.

The France international started his professional career at Manchester United but moved to Juventus in an £800,000 deal back in 2012.

Pogba established himself as one of Europe’s most-exciting midfielders during his four seasons at Serie A giants Juventus.

After winning four Italian titles, Pogba became the most-expensive player in the world in 2016 when he completed a blockbuster £89m return to Old Trafford.

Paul’s transfer fee has since been eclipsed by Neymar’s £198m move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

Pogba won the League Cup and the Europa League in his first season back at Old Trafford.

Early Life

Pogba was born to Guinean parents in Lagny-sur-Marne in France.

He has older twin brothers Florentin and Mathias. Both are professional footballers like their younger sibling.

Pogba started his youth career with local team US Torcy, where he captained the club’s Under-13’s team.

His performances caught the attention of Le Harve, a French club with a rich tradition of producing and moulding talented footballers.

Paul was particularly impressive during an Under-16 tournament, where he helped Le Harve to finish as runners-up.

Manchester United

Pogba completed a move to the Manchester United youth academy in 2009, ending his time with Le Harve.

His initial move to Manchester United caused controversy after Le Harve alleged to have an agreement in place to sign Pogba on a youth contract once he reached a certain age.

However, the Red Devils were cleared of any wrongdoing by a judge appointed by Fifa and Pogba’s transfer was finally confirmed in the summer of 2010.

Pogba was a regular in the Manchester United’s Under-18s team and finished his first season with seven goals in 21 games for the youth side.

The French midfielder featured regularly for Manchester United’s Under-18s team in the Academy League and the FA Youth Cup.

Sir Alex Ferguson called Pogba up to the Manchester United senior squad for the first time ahead of their FA Cup clash against Crawley United in February 2011.

The versatile midfielder finished 2011-12 with some youth-level silverware after Pogba helped Manchester United to secure a 6-3 aggregate win against Sheffield United in the FA Youth Cup final.

Ferguson stated his intention to use Pogba during the 2011-12 season amid growing concerns a lack of first-team football could lead to the Frenchman’s departure.

He made his first Premier League appearance as a 72nd-minute substitute against Stoke City in January 2012. He made another appearance from the bench against West Brom in March 2012.

Ferguson gave Pogba 27 minutes in Spain when he replaced Michael Carrick in 63rd minute of a 2-1 loss to Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League on his European debut.

However, his time at Old Trafford was about to come to an end, and the Manchester United manager confirmed that Pogba had opted to turn down a new deal with the Red Devils in July 2012.

Juventus

Pogba completed his medical at Juventus in July before his transfer was finalised on 3 August 2012.

The France starlet made his full debut against Chievo in Serie A before he started his first Champions League game in a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.

Paul opened his Juventus account with a goal in a 2-0 victory over Napoli. He continued his goal-scoring run with the winning goal in 2-1 triumph over Bologna.

He scored five goals in 27 games during Juve’s title-winning season but ended the campaign on a low note. He was sent off for spitting at an opponent in Juventus’ 1-0 win against Palermo.

In fact, his importance to Juventus was perhaps highlighted by the fact he featured more times (51) in all competitions than any other player in the 2013-14 campaign.

Pogba won his second Serie A title under Antonio Conte but missed out on European glory after Juventus crashed out of the competition in the semi-finals.

Massimiliano Allegri took over the reins from Conte in the summer of 2014 after the ex-defender opted to take charge of the Italian national team.

Pogba produced impressive performances against AC Milan and Sassuolo in the early stages of the 2014-15 season. His contribution was recognised in the form of a new five-year contract in October 2014.

While Pogba and Juventus were easing away from their title rivals in Serie A, the Old Lady were making good progress in the Champions League knockout stage too.

He missed two months with a hamstring problem which he suffered against Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund in the last 16.

Pogba made a timely return to help Juventus to beat Cagliari to win a third successive Serie A crown. He also provided an assist for Alvaro Morata in a 3-2 aggregate win against Real Madrid to reach the Champions League final.

The France star continued his creative streak with an assist in a 2-1 victory over Lazio in Coppa Italia. However, he couldn’t help Juventus avoid defeat by Barcelona in the Champions League final as the Spanish side ran out 3-1 winners.

Pogba scored nine goals and made four assists in 37 games in all competitions in his third season in Turin.

Juventus handed Paul the number shirt following Carlos Tevez’s departure ahead of the 2015-16 season.

Pogba then made his 100th Serie A appearance in a 2-1 derby win against Torino on 31 October 2015.

He again played a key role in helping Juventus win a fourth successive title. He netted a career-best eight goals and made 12 assists in 35 games.

Pogba won the Coppa Italia for the second successive season after 1-0 extra-time win against AC Milan.

Return To Manchester United

Manchester United spent a world-record £89m on re-signing Pogba from Serie A champions Juventus in the 2016 summer transfer window.

He initially signed a five-year contract on 8 August 2016 as he became Jose Mourinho’s fourth signing following the Portuguese coach’s appointment as Louis van Gaal’s successor.

The France star missed the chance to make his second Manchester United debut in their season opener against Bournemouth due to a suspension carried over from Italy.

He struggled to carry his dominant Serie A performances into the Premier League, attracting criticism from some former professionals turned pundits.

Paul had a limited impact in Manchester United’s 2-1 loss to Manchester City in the derby clash at Old Trafford.

Pogba added to his tally with two goals in Manchester United’s 2-1 win against Fenerbahce.

Although Manchester United’s title challenge faded in the second half of the season, Pogba’s goal at Hull City helped Mourinho’s side to reach the League Cup final.

And Pogba won his first trophy as a Manchester United star when the Red Devils were 3-2 winners against Southampton in the League Cup final at Wembley.

He lifted his second trophy of the 2016-17 season when Manchester United beat Ajax 2-0 in the Europa League final in Stockholm on 24 May 2017. Pogba scored the opening goal with a deflected strike in the European showpiece.

He scored five goals and made four assists in 31 games in his first season back in the Premier League.

The Manchester United club-record signing made a brilliant start to his second season back at Old Trafford.

Pogba scored in both of Manchester United’s 4-0 victories over West Ham United and Swansea City.

The Frenchman created two goals for his team-mates as his influence on Mourinho’s team increased.

However, Pogba suffered a hamstring problem in a 3-0 win against Basel in September 2017. That night, he captained the Red Devils for the first time before his Champions League night was cut short.

He produced his best performance of the season in Manchester United’s 3-2 win at Manchester City, as he scored two second-half goals.

Pogba finished the season with six goals and 12 assists but couldn’t help Manchester United to win the FA Cup after a 1-0 loss to Chelsea FC.

International Career

Pogba marked his potential on the international stage in 2013 when he captained France to the Under-20 World Cup. The versatile midfielder scored his spot-kick in the shootout as France beat Uruguay on penalties.

He had already made his senior debut in March 2013 and his performances for Juventus helped to secure a place in les Bleus’ World Cup squad in 2014.

Pogba won the World Cup’s Best Young Player award after the midfielder scored a goal against Nigeria in the round of 16. He made two assists in victories over Honduras and Switzerland too.

Unsurprisingly, he was named in Didier Deschamps’ squad for Euro 2016 on French soil. However, Pogba struggled to set the tournament alight despite his growing reputation.

He opened his account in the European championship with a header in a 2-0 win against Iceland in the quarter-finals. He created Antoine Griezmann’s second goal in a 2-0 victory over Germany in the last four.

Unfortunately, Pogba was unable to inspire France to Euro 2016 glory as they suffered a 1-0 loss to Portugal after extra-time in the final at Stade de France.

At Euro 2020, Pogba scored one goal and made one assist in four games – but France were knocked out at the last-16 stage by Switzerland.

Personal Life

Paul has two older brothers, who are twins. Indeed, Florentin and Mathias regularly feature in the midfielder’s Instagram feed.

Pogba has kept his social media followers entertained with his variety of frequently-changing hairstyles throughout his Juventus and Manchester United careers.

He is a practising Muslim, and was photographed visiting the holy city of Mecca at the start of Ramadan in 2017.

Paul Pogba – Did You Know?

• Although Paul is a seasoned France international, his brothers Florentin and Mathias both represent Guinea at national level.

• He earned the nickname “Il Polpo Paul”, which translates to “Paul the Octopus”, during his time at Juventus.

• The charismatic midfielder has pushed his own hashtag on Instagram, #pogboom. Indeed, Manchester United used the slogan to announce his re-signing in 2016.