EXCLUSIVE
PAUL THE OTHER ONE
Manchester United made ‘mistake’ re-signing Paul Pogba in 2016, talkSPORT told, with history now repeating itself as PSG target stalls on signing rumoured £400k-a-week contract
Manchester United made ‘the wrong call’ bringing Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford in 2016, with the club now facing heavy criticism over the star's contract situation.
That’s the view of talkSPORT pundit Trevor Sinclair, although Simon Jordan insists ‘there is a method and a reason to their madness’.
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Pogba has just 12 months remaining on his current deal, with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain reportedly circling around the midfielder and plotting a £50million swoop.
The France international is in his second spell with the Red Devils having left on a free transfer back in 2012 to join Juventus.
Jose Mourinho convinced the United board to part with a world record £89million in 2016 to bring him back to the club where he honed his skill as an academy talent.
Yet, it would be fair to say the reunion has not worked as well as both parties would have hoped, with Pogba arguably showing his best form for Les Bleus on a far more consistent basis.
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With the 28-year-old not fancied by Sir Alex Ferguson nine years ago, there is a lingering sense of déjà vu surrounding the club as they potentially prepare to cash in on their most lucrative purchase.
Recent reports claimed United are willing to offer Pogba a stunning £400,000-a-week contract to make him the highest earner in the Premier League, but that Pogba is stalling and set to let his current deal wind down - just as he did in his first spell in Manchester.
And Sinclair says the decision to re-sign the midfielder five years ago was clearly a 'mistake'.
The former Man City and England winger told White and Jordan: “When you sell a player, or you let a player go because he is asking for so much money as a teenager…
“Because football is all about personalities, it’s all about people, and I think Manchester United made their call about Paul Pogba as a person back then.
“To start with, to bring him back to the club after knowing you know about him, I think that’s where the first mistake was.
“Sir Alex doesn’t get many wrong does he? And he allowed Paul Pogba to leave, so when you’re bringing him back for that kind of money, you have got to be sure.
“For me, that was the wrong call.”
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“I think it has been poorly managed,” he added.
“It’s not best practice for Manchester United to let a player of Paul Pogba’s quality get into the final year of his contract.
“Now, I know at times that is out of your hands, but as a football club you could sell that player before it gets to that stage.
“Basically, they let him go for next to nothing many years ago, he made a name for himself at Juve and he came back for £89m.
“To let that player then leave again for nothing, I think that is poor.”
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As a man with plenty of years of formative experience dealing with troublesome agents and their clients, Simon Jordan is well equipped to discuss the potential ramifications of letting a star player leave for nothing.
And while he insists United's new director of football John Murtough will not enjoy the current situation, he believes there is a plan behind the scenes.
“They’re not going to get a lot of cash value for him,” Jordan warned.
“But let’s assume that everyone at Manchester United is an idiot and that John Murtough is a character like something out of Life of Brian, he’s going to come along and ‘I’m the Messiah!’
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“Because that is not the case; Manchester United are not stupid, there is a method and a reason to their madness, in the same way there was probably a method and a reason to the madness at Arsenal – at times.
“Sometimes, you just get yourself into very difficult situations with circles that you cannot square.”
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