The Paul Pogba Paradox 

Wow he's already 30. Time goes by fast.

The stuff he was doing at Juventus was crazy, especially when you factor in his age. It’s sad that United only signed a competent dm after he left, him, Casemiro and Bruno would’ve been crazy

The 4 assists in 1 game came when he was coached by Ole. His best and most effective position at United in his 6 years was Left Attacking Midfielder which was used under Ole. He played on the Left Midfield higher up the pitch and not as a winger. He never ran the flanks but went line to line with Bruno for ball progression or received it from Shaw who used to overlap as a wingback and progress the ball like a winger. This is what happens when you rely on Google scores to look at player positions lol.

At Juve, he was free. He had Vidal as the hardworking box to box (back then Vidal was one of the best box to box CM in the world) and the genius of Pirlo as company. At United he didn't have anyone even near 2 steps back of that Juve midfield, then got lazy, the joke "Jogba" became a thing and never came back from it. For France he had the same solid company at Juve with Kante.

Very good essay, as always. Couple of points I'd like to add. 1. At United, he was let down by the poor recruitment & quality around him. Jose was trying to plaster & win with scraps so he opted for a more pragmatic approach a lot of the time. First season saw Herrera, Fellaini & Carrick play the 6 role a lot which wasn't convincing considering 2 of those aren't that position. Then one or 2 came in but were either good for a short time or inadequate which then led to Ole coming in & then we saw Pogba play well in the 10 role, getting double digits goals & assist. However, Herrera left & Matic had somehow aged horribly in a short time (post 2018 summer surgery) which saw Pogba play briefly as the 8 in a double pivot with McTominay or Fred (both are NOT 6's) which opted for a defensive approach in the midfield. No recruitment for a Matic replacement even when he was there saw Pogba almost limited & couldn't play to his strengths considering he rarely partnered a player in that deep midfield that could adequately cover & have the defensive discipline Prime Matic or even casemiro now has. After the long injury, there was the brief lockdown period which saw the trio of matic, pogba & Bruno work but matic could not be relied on every game; therefore Pogba found himself limited deeper (bar the "Left sided 10" phase) as no adequate 6 was ever signed till after he left & he found himself alongside the work horses but not outright defensive midfielders in Fred or McTominay. For all his time there, Ole asked but never got. 2. The "LW" thing is incorrect. The role he played was almost as a Left sided 10 (attacking midfielder) for 2/3s of the 2020/21 season which gave him the same positional freedom he had at Juventus (in diamond formations playing beside Pirlo, Marchisio & Vidal, then Khedira, Marchisio & Hernanes) & France (2018 saw him next to Matuidi AND Kante). It allowed for the midfield to have 2 of the more hard working players like McTominay & Fred, or the only 6 at the club, Matic. He had a lot more good performances here than he did, some even might say masterclasses (Leeds, Home, August 2021).

On a good day, Pogba was probably the best MIDFIELDER to watch in his era. I liked his confidence on the ball and the fact that his crosses and long shots were from another planet. Prime (fit) Pogba was literally the best MIDFIELDER.

Not selling Pogba to Real Madrid for 100M was one of the biggest transfer blunders of Man Utd. His form dropped significantly after that failed transfer. The constant change in manager certainly didn't help as well.

I think dele alli story tells us to be careful about what we say. Pogba was abused and targeted for years. I don’t know his story, so I refrain from judgement about his personal life and his “laziness.” As a United fan even when he was far and away our best player his first couple years he received constant abuse from the media and social media. I’m just happy I got to see such a great player even if it wasn’t sustained, truly amazing and one of my favorite players ever, Paul Labil Pogba

An incredibly talented young man, who came from poverty, who got drawn in by the glitz and glamour of money and fame. A tale as old as time

I'm a life long United fan, im 38yrs old. Pogba is a bit of a paradox. I dont actually dislike him at all, despite what i am going to say. His trophy cabinet says he is an elite player. Watching him play week in week out is another thing. He was NEVER the best midfielder in the world because he NEVER shows consistency. He played during a time that Kroos, Modric, Iniesta, Kante played (just to name a few). Pogba strikes me as almost the poster boy for the modern footballer. Blessed with incredible skills and fame. If football was taken away from him, would it hurt? Or would he be content with the fame and wealth? Jesse Lingard, Memphis Depay, Sancho - these players. Would it be soul destroying to these players if the game was taken away from them but they still had fame and fortune.?

Pogba is pogba's own enemy. Such talent. Could not replicate day in day out, especially social media just ruined his life,not forgetting his agent.

Pogba is my guy. Favorite player I’ve ever watched. Regardless of ceiling, unreached potential, etc…his best moments can’t be topped.

just realised its crazy everytime when jose mourinho managed a club, a star player with bad attitude gets called out by him then their career when downhill after it

Incredibly talented, looks great in compilations but a massive underachiever. Never seen so many excuses for a failing player, was delighted when he left my club

Its such a shame to have watched his story coming up being the wonder kid with hype all around his name everyone knew Paul Pogba. Its a shame that now everyone knows the footballer with one of the greatest fall offs Paul Pogba.

I think a vid related to dele alli and footballer mental health would be really insightful

Pogba is about to trademark the word "Pogbadox" after seeing this

Your videos (especially the long documentaries and iceberg videos) are the best football videos on youtube. Cheers for the effort

At his best he was amazing to watch. So much fun. Sad to see how his story is ending.

I only found this channel a month ago and I'm so glad I did I instantly hit the sub button, love these types of documentaries on Football your channel is my favourite now along with HITC sevens 🔥

As a United fan not seeing a Bruno Pogba Case midfield will always be one of the biggest "what ifs" imo. But seriously, the impact that Bruno had in the pandemic years was what everyone expected from Pogba in 2016.

The analogy of batman and Robin is perfect to describe his situation. He was always a Robin, the perfect wingman but never the leader. United dropped 100mil and for that money he was expected to lead but its not in him. At Juve he was flanked by Vidal, at his prime arguably the best box to box mid in the world but side note..for my money he was pipped to that by Nianggolan for 3-4 seasons, the player United should have signed and would have been the closest thing to Roy Keane seen on a football pitch. So Vidal and then the brain of Pirlo. Allowing Pogba to freelance and do Pogba things without worry about position or responsibility. That was the setup that allowed him to shine and express his incredible technique and confidence came out of that to score nunerous screamers. Let's not also forget the boss player Marchiso who was just as talented as the others but often injured unfortunately. They had a beast lineup and then there was Pereyra filling it who can do a bit of everything. I said at the time he would flop as he was being bought to lead and Juve done United twice. First on the free transfer and then on the 100 million. The player of old is still there, he just needs to find the right project that has midfielders around him to lead. He is what he is at this point. United showed he can't be moulded into something else.

As a United fan, I adore Pogba. I wish he hadn't had all the injury issues, and the coaches could've gotten the best out of him. I miss him every day and wish I could see him play with Bruno and Casemiro.

I love pogba as player and as a person. I really hope he can come back from his injury’s and return to what we all thought he’d be.

I remember saying this a while back during one of his better games for United but “Paul(on his day)Pogba” was a brilliant player. I remember that Manchester derby where we came back to win 3-2 and he looked brilliant

First time I saw him was in the 2013 u20 World cup when he was dominating the midfield with so much skill and aggression . When he was holding the "best player award" all I could see was a future world class player.

Injuries fcking suck. Pogbas story resonates a little bit harder with me because he reminds me of me. I’m nearing 30 too and have had back to back injuries in the last few years which have absolutely changed my game. It’s depressing to the point I feel like I can’t play anymore. I can only imagine the amount of pressure and stress at a pro level where your livelihood depends on it. Hopefully his business ventures make up for not being able to play as much.

Mate your new football documentary video style is bangin'. Keep it up pal!!

He used to be my most favorite player since them juve days. Was such a world class player for club and country. Its sad what can actually outsiders of your life can affect you and bring you down mentally and can demotivate you.

I watched both his United debuts sat at the ground, and I remember thinking both times, this guy is head and shoulders above every other player ability wise. But the first time, he was a sub and played in that pocket on the left, and he was brilliant, and the second time, he played as a 6. Even though in that first game back, he was unreal, I worried that he'd be played there all the time, and in the end, that was where he was stuck most of the time. If we'd had a manager that said build the team around him, then we could have gotten the best. It was a waste, and some players need to have security blanket around d them and let them do what they want largely, and I think he is one of those, and then you get the best. I'd love to have seen him under Ten Hag as he is a for the team style manager, but could he still get the best with him in the Eriksen position? Having watched him live a lot, some of the Pogba he could do was beyond anyone else's ability, but we'd never see it two games in a row, and sometimes two halves in a row. Such a shame. He is another player that has a circus with 24 hours a day, and I'm glad that United are finally seeming to step away from players like that.

Crazy that this is in my feed now

When pogba was playing with pirlo, he was literally one of the most talented players in the world. He still has time to turn back it around. I hope he can.

Another thing that doesn’t help is his return to Juventus. When Paul Pogba returned to the Old Lady 12 months ago it looked like a good move for both parties and a fresh start from the player. So far his return to Juventus has been a nightmare. He went back to a club where he enjoyed a lot of success was likable among the fans after a testing stint at Manchester United because he endured an injury plagued period there and periods of inconsistency and at Juventus those problems have worsen for him. From August to June with a World Cup in the middle of the season he’s been available for less than 20% of the games Juventus played during this period and for a player with all that talent it’s a problem when you’ve lacked fitness all season this isn’t every about performance he’s just not fit and it’s caused his overall stock to decline even further. He’s experienced difficulty off the field as well we heard about his brother blackmailing him extortion did he really hire a witchdoctor to cast a spell on Kylian Mbappé and it’s not even that going skiing when you’ve hardly kicked a ball in over 12 months wasn’t the right move and it led to criticism among fans because weeks before this Manuel Neuer broke his leg while going skiing and was ruled out for the season and a player who hasn’t played regular football in months decided it’s a good idea to ski rather than focusing on recovering and getting himself fit again. Also after finally making his second debut with Juventus he was dropped from their squad because he was late to a team meeting and then days later he got injured again. Every time he returns to the side he gets hurt and even when he started a game before the season ended he got injured again and this hasn’t been a last season problem for Paul Pogba when the injuries were occurring at Manchester United. In terms of fitness and form Paul Pogba is no longer at that elite level in football and he’s 30 years old. He should still be in his peak years playing for Manchester City Real Madrid Bayern Munich Liverpool all those elite level clubs . He always wanted a move to Real Madrid and that’s never happening, the reason why those clubs when he was available on a free transfer by Manchester United last summer none of those clubs wanted anything to do with him the reason for that is his level has dropped big time and his second stint at Juventus has been evident of this because he doesn’t even play football nowadays and he’s now linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League. If you’re Juventus you should consider either selling him or terminating his contract because you’re paying him loads of money and he’s on your books with that huge salary and has barely played. The fact that Paul Pogba at 30 years of age is being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia that tells you about the tragic decline he’s experienced over the last 18 months in terms of form and fitness.

Great work Vizeh!

Bringing him back to mu set the team back a decade.

He always had his eyes on the next challenge and never worried about his current challenge. Injuries, different managers, being used in bad positions, and his agent were reasons why he didn't reach his potential.

Not even trying to joek about but Pogba, on his day, was the best midfielder I've ever seen

Thank God! Your Videos are inspirational. And I appreciate your work!

it was short lived, but the pogba and kante pivot was something else

He might have the best worst career if that makes sense, he has the medals, team of the years, big moments and still feels like we only got to see 50%. Hope he recovers from the injuries because the quality he has is hard to lose

Cant WAIT for the deli ali part 2 🗣️🙌

I really respect you for doing this video 😊

Humble...Talented.. Onana 👍

happy to discover your channel

Awesome Video Man

It was so poor from my club to not recruit a single defensive hard working midfielder during his entire stint.. Imagine if we signed Casemiro whilst Pogba was still here... he would have been far too better... look at him at France with Kante and Rabiot... under Mourinho, he was never destined to be successful with the pragmatic, hardworking defensive football.. he was more of a free bird.. I remember his best phase of form at united was during Ole's caretaker period when we had a consistent midfield of Matic, Herrera and Pogba.. Matic was the defensive lynchpin, Herrera was box to box doing the hard running, and Pogba was the free creator who was allowed to do his thing in the final third.. and he was phenomenal.. but United let Herrera go the next season, and didn't replace him.. then we signed Bruno in January that season, who naturally got the free CAM role that Pogba had before and Pogba himself was designated to the Herrera role.. we all know his work rate off the ball isn't what he's known for.. and as expected, it just went downhill for him since then.. Ole's tactical inability and injuries ruined his united career, still haunts me remembering seeing McTominay and Pogba being played together as the two pivots in a 4-2-3-1... people hate him, but on his day, he was unbeatable.. he just came here at the wrong time..

one of the few players who is very tall and physical strong with that impressive technique,but unfortunately all this bad stuff that happened to him,little sorry for him but yea...... What a player he could have been.....

He seemed to lack desire in every match. When he was up for it, he was *up for it*, dragging United to a win at the Etihad against Pep, he was great in their Europa League title run in 2017, individual performances here and there. But he didn't always seem like he was up for every match, and I think it was because he lacked quality around him and he had a series of small, annoying injuries that he was occasionally forced to play through. So he didn't give 100% all the time.

Juve fan here. It’s sad man. He was amazing before he went to Manchester United. He still has it, but I think the injuries and his mindset isn’t where it once was. I was so happy he came back to Juve, but what a terrible return. Hope he can turn things around. He’s 30. So he still has time.

Pogba is world class united should've played him as a cam to show his quality

PP greatest enemy was his own head. He didn't do enough at United and he was carried by Pirlo at Juve and Kante with France. He's not a bad player by any means, he's just not the guy, he is the guy who follows THE MAN.

Pogba is a "you miss every shot you don't take" midfielder. He takes massive risks. People love him when they work and hate him when he does not. As he got older, his luck ran out and people were less forgiving of mistakes, he was less willing to take the risks and you just end up with a tall-lanky-lazy-flashy-midfielder. The generic mid-table Ligue 1 African/French type. Some clubs didn't have the luxury of having a strong enough defense and midfield to give a player like Pogba the freedom to be flashy, especially since wings and wingbacks are the ones who are central creative focus in modern football.

Pogba was UTD's Ozil. They did the right thing to not give the guy a new contract.

Great video

About to start a FIFA 23 Career Mode with Pogba as the star signing, and you put this up. Crazy. Excellent work, as always.

Pogba was unstoppable at Juve. So unfortunate he couldnt get back to the levels he was. I always got excited when he played

I believe Pogba would have excelled if he had a manager like Eric Ten Hag. The things that killed him was his injuries (Man Utd is partly to blame), attitude problem and effort levels. Look at Gundogan, he was injury prone but played exceptionally when called upon and City medical team worked wonders on him

I wanted him to succeed to badly man, and I still never hated him even at the end. I accept he had to move but at the same time it was criminal we didn’t give him a Casemiro type player to play with. He had too many defensive responsibilities and he wasn’t great at defense. I wake up pretty early in NYC to watch United play and his inconsistencies were frustrating. It’s a shame what happened to him.

Missed opportunity for 'it's Paul over.'

Who remembers in fifa when he would score random long shots and dab on me… fun times

Enjoy your videos

Trust me, while I know everyone is not the same, but once you have an injury, often the body is just on the way to being done. The body often just isn't the same. So I don't judge Pogba at all. He was amazing when healthy, truly a beast. He had the hunger and passion and was a star. I personally know how an injury can affect your body and life. Sometimes it's bad. And with Pogba you add the pressure, the media the criticism, his thoughts or realizing his body might not ever be the same or let him play the same again, and it's a lot to take. It would have been awesome to get to watch him for more years at a higher level, but I can understand if those days for him are gone. It's a shame though. He truly was one of the greats.

Pogba is the prime example of if you watched someone for a short period you would think brilliant, but if you closely followed him for a whole game he would infuriate you.

Its just shame that the young generation that was supposed to be after Messi/Ronaldo era was mainly disappointing, besides Neymar, Bale, KDB, Hazard and maybe Griezmann who probably were the only ones that didnt disappointed that much, guys like Pogba, James Rodriguez, Mario Gotze, Dele Alli, Dybala, Coutinho, De Gea, Alexis Sanchez, Kane, Sterling, Lukaku, Jack Wilshere, Lucas Moura, etc disappointed a little bit more

Amen

Paul Pogba is who I’d show Aliens as the prototype for an Elite Athlete. Put him on any surface in any sport and you’d be convinced “I’m betting on him…”

Paul Pogba is one of footballs biggest enigma's... His ability on the ball was unquestionable, his physique made him a formidable force that at times made him unplayable but his natural ability made him be unprofessional at times, and the tic tok dancing fancy haircuts and glitzy lifestyle that he portrayed to the public became his downfall.

I’ve always thought he’s been more focussed on playing for France than Utd. Utd have also been at fault for keeping a player who had made it very clear he wanted out, but still expect him to perform at his best when his heart wasn’t in it. I don’t care who it is but if a Liverpool player made it that obvious he wanted a move away I wouldn’t expect to see the best of him for us ever again and it would be better for all party’s that they move on.

Thanks for the vid. I do not see where you answer the basic footballing question about Pogba. Did he cover back enough to make his forward play worth while to the team? That's the real question about P.B. This is why he fell out with Jose and this is why his French teammates were shouting at him at the World Cup as France left the field. Even though he'd scored a fantastic sole goal; France were still out because he would not cover back when they lost the ball.

Pogba had the ability to be one of the best midfielders of all time. Unfortunately he lacked focus and was too concerned with being a celebrity.

Pogbas biggest problem wasn’t injuries, it was having a controversy seeking agent who turns players into mercs. If Zlatan wasn’t represented by Mino Raiola then he would have won the UCL. Had Pogba had a better agent he’d have gone to Real and won multiple huge titles.

Souness man marked him from the studio. 😂

one of my favourite players man

Yuppa

What a timing this vídeo has come in my feed huh

Pogba Literally ran the midfield of France National Team, which won the world cup, reached the final of euros. also Paul Pogba is Muslim and being a frenchman, it invites hate. unfair disrespect. he is a world cup winner. scored in the final of the world cup, won the europa league, scored in the final of that too.

Mourinho called Pogba a 'virus' in front of his team-mates, and told him: "You are like a person with a flu with a virus in a closed room - you pass that virus to the others." The Portuguese added: "You don’t play, you don't respect players and supporters and you kill the mentality of good, honest people around you."

I genuinely don't think pogba had the gritt to play in the PL not every player can. He was one of them

On his day Pogba lives

at least he won a world cup. that is still a big achievement

Need to watch a Pogba fail comp after this

Pogba is the definition of a luxury player! He’s great as the cherry on top, no good in the trenches though

I believe if he had moved to one of the Spanish giants instead of United in 2016, he would be considered a top 10 midfielder of all time

The pogba problem at united was that he was best as a left sided #8 in a 433. And neither of hes managers (jose and ole) wanted to play that midfield set up. They didn’t have but essentially, thats why it didnt work out for paul.

Genius!! 'Baller!!! Winner of the biggest silverware!!!!🙂

My man using Lemmino’s music for the background✅✅

I have always believed Pogba was overrated and I stick with that opinion. His talent was undeniable, his laziness legendary.

Man istg bro, packed him in like day 7 of fifa 15 or 16 and to this day he is still my most expensive tradeable pack pull.

Pogba’s problem is the same a lot of great players have had, injuries! Not often spoken about but players like Diaby, Gotze, Anderson and Oxlade Chamberlain could have also been great players but their body has other plans. 😢

Pogba hadmore haircuts than good matches in ManU

I remember getting frustrated when he would be injured, but posting all sorts of shit on social media. I got the feeling that football was way down the pecking order. Can’t ignore the poor state we were in though as a club.

The ultimate luxury player. Does well only when everything is in his favour.

If social media could be bottled and thrown in the ocean and washes up 100 years from now Paul Pogba's name (along with many others) would be read out under the title of "Social media clown chose lifestyle than natural ability"

He has a great talent but *injuries* man

he is now coming to play in Flamengo, the biggest club in Brazil and America, so he can win some Libertadores Cup

Just how he scored against Switzerland and did a silly dance to then lose

❤

The myth was that he was ever in conversations about being a top player, never was and most likely never will be, has the talent but not the desire.

Imagine if Pogba and Ravel Morrison were inter grated with the United squad for the 12/13 season ready for the post Ferguson era?

No surprise. Yet another great player who could not cut it at Man U. There have been far too many over the years and it continues every season. I am surprised that there has not been a whole programme devoted to the subject.