Paul Pogba reveals it is ‘very difficult’ living in Manchester as a Muslim after terror attack, how he deals with death of father… and not understanding Fergie’s accent
The 24-year-old was signed from Juventus for £89million last season but enjoyed an up and down season at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho
PAUL POGBA has revealed all about coping with a world- record £89million price-tag, his roller-coaster return to Old Trafford and the death of his father.
In an exclusive interview with Esquire magazine, which is out today, he denies the monster transfer fee weighed heavily on him.
Yet at times last season it seemed like he was trying to be Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rolled into one to justify himself after returning to Manchester United.
The Frenchman was often guilty of trying spectacular shots from distance or mazy runs to catch the eye.
It all added fuel to the argument he was just trying a bit too hard in his second stint at United, who he left on a free transfer to join Juventus in 2012.
But his position in the team - in front of the back four in a two — did not give him the freedom he enjoyed at Juventus.
Often Pogba seemed caught between two stools — torn over his desire to go forward and his defensive duties.
And his displays occasionally earned criticism from some pundits.
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But he was certainly not a flop as his two medals from the EFL Cup and the Europa League will testify - to add to United’s Community Shield win.
Pogba scored the opener in their 2-0 triumph against Ajax in the Europa League final and played 51 games in all for Jose Mourinho’s side - scoring nine goals.
The longer the season went on, the more he settled and more consistent his displays became.
And his long balls from deep were particularly eye-catching.
Pogba went from winning four titles with Juventus — by far the best team in Italy — to joining a United team struggling to find its way again under their third manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
It proved a tough season at times for the players, but Pogba did his bit in what was, in the end, a successful campaign.
And there is much more to come from the 24-year-old superstar.
Here SunSport reproduces extracts from his Esquire interview.
ON HIS WORLD-RECORD TRANSFER FEE…
“After one week, I forgot. It’s people that reminded me.
“Because at the end of the day, when you die, the most expensive and the less expensive, they go in the same grave. So I don’t even think about it.”
ON MOURINHO’S CLAIM THAT UNITED WERE THE “WORST TEAM IN THE WORLD”…
“I accept that we didn’t play well - we didn’t do this, we didn’t do that.
“I know what we did - we won three trophies. That’s all I know.
“And that’s all that matters. Because you can be the best team in the world, you can play great football and you win zero trophies. And who remembers them? No one. Right?”
ON TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SIR ALEX FERGUSON WHEN HE FIRST CAME TO ENGLAND AT 16…
“No! No, I couldn’t. At first, I couldn’t. I couldn’t even understand my team-mates with their Mancunian accents.
“They’d speak fast and I’d say, ‘Speak slow, slow… ’ I couldn’t speak. My friends right now, they laugh at me.
“They say, ‘Oh, I remember the first days, you couldn’t speak. And now, you just speak better than us. You speak Mancunian with the accent!’ So it’s funny.”
ON HIS DECISION TO LEAVE MANCHESTER UNITED IN 2012…
“I left Manchester to play. That’s all I wanted. Even though I was young, I felt I could play now and I didn’t want to wait.
“So if it wasn’t with Manchester, it would be with someone else. But in my mind, I knew: ‘It’s not finished, I might come back’.
“My mum told me this: ‘You’ll come back one day’. And here I am, having a haircut in Manchester.”
ON HIS CHILDHOOD…
“I grew up — how do you say this? — in the hood. With my friends, playing football.
“I really loved football from a young age. And my only thought, my only objective in life, was to be a professional footballer.”
ON THE RECENT DEATH OF HIS FATHER…
“When you lose someone you love, you don’t think the same way.
“And that’s why I say I enjoy life, because it goes very fast.
“I remember when I was talking to my dad and now he’s not here.
“My dad was a very strong man, very stubborn as well. He fought, but at his age it’s not easy.
“He was a very good man, a very good dad and I’m proud to be his son.
“He was one of the funniest guys ever - so funny.
“Every time you had time with him you were laughing. Very clever as well, because he was a professor. You have to remember the happy things.”
ON BEING A MUSLIM LIVING IN MANCHESTER AFTER THE ATTACKS…
“It’s a very difficult moment but you cannot give up. We can’t let them get in our heads - we have to fight for it.
“Sad things happen in life but you cannot stop living.
“You cannot kill a human being. To kill a human being… it’s something crazy, so I don’t want to put religion on it.
“This is not Islam and everybody knows that.
“I won’t be the only one saying that.”
Read the full interview in Esquire’s July/August 2017 issue, which is on sale now. Also available as a digital edition.