WE WON’T LET BOMBS RUIN OUR WAY OF LIFE
Muslim Paul Pogba on coping after Manchester tragedy
“It’s a difficult moment but we cannot give up”
PAUL POGBA has opened up about the difficulty of being a Muslim living in Manchester following the bomb attack on the city last month, and insists the terrorists cannot be allowed to win. In an interview for the July-August issue of Esquire, the Manchester United star also reflected on the recent death of his father. The Frenchman inspired United to victory in the Europa League final over Ajax on May 24 — two days after a bomber killed 22 people and injured many more following an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena.
The midfielder dedicated United’s win to the victims and believes the atrocity — and similar attacks — have nothing to do with religion.
Pogba, who made a pilgrimage to the holy site of Mecca at the end of the season, said: ‘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. 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.’
Since moving to United from Juventus for a world-record fee, Pogba has become known for his fun-loving attitude, dance routines and hairstyles. He says the death of his father less than two weeks before the final in Stockholm was a reminder that life is to be enjoyed.
‘When you lose someone you love, you don’t think the same way,’ he added. ‘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. He was a very good man, a very good dad and I’m proud to be his son.’
Looking back on his first season as the most expensive player in world football, Pogba insisted the £89million price tag did not affect his performances.
‘After one week, I forgot,’ he said. ‘At the end of the day, the most expensive and the less expensive, they go in the same grave. I don’t think about it.’
He also deflected criticism of his and United’s performances, pointing to the three trophies won under Jose Mourinho.
‘I accept we didn’t play well, we didn’t do this, we didn’t do that,’ he said. ‘I know what we did — we won three trophies. And that’s all that matters.
‘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?’
United received only £800,000 in compensation for Pogba when he left to seek first-team opportunities at Juventus in 2012.
He maintains it was purely his desire to play football that led him to leave against Sir Alex Ferguson’s wishes — and admits he couldn’t understand his former manager’s accent when he first arrived from France at the age of 16.
‘No! No, I couldn’t. At first, I couldn’t,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t even understand my team-mates with their Mancunian accents. My friends right now, they laugh at me. They say: “Oh, I remember the first days you couldn’t speak and now — you speak Mancunian with the accent!” So it’s funny.
‘I left Manchester to play. That’s all I wanted. Even though I was young, I felt I could play 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: “You’ll come back one day”. And here I am.’