POGBA BOMBSHELL!
Agent says Frenchman unhappy at United and wants out
PAUL P OGBA’S agent Mino Raiola has dropped a bomb shell on Manchester United before tonight’s do- or- die Champions League clash in Leipzig by declaring that the France star wants to leave.
Raiola urged United to sell their £89million record signing next summer or risk losing him for nothing when his contract expires in June 2022 because he claims Pogba won’t sign a new one. Raiola has cast doubt over Pogba’s future before, but the timing of his latest comments will infuriate manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
‘I can say that it’s over for Paul Pogba at Manchester United,’ Raiola told Italian newspaper Tuttosport. ‘He has to change teams, he has to change the air.
‘He has a contract that will expire in a year and a half but I believe the best solution for the parties is to sell in the next (summer) market. Otherwise, the club, with whom relations are excellent, know well that they would risk losing him on a free transfer, given that for the moment it is not his intention to extend the contract.’
Raiola has been agitating for Pogba to move for some time while the 27-year- old midfielder has spoken of his dream of joining Real Madrid. Although Pogba scored a stunning goal in the 3-1 win at West Ham on Saturday, he is unhappy about playing in a deeper role behind Bruno Fernandes.
‘It is pointless to go around it,’ added Raiola. ‘It’s better to speak clearly, look ahead and not waste time looking for culprits. Paul is unhappy at Manchester United, he is no longer able to express himself as he would like. If someone doesn’t understand it, they understand very little about football. In any case, let them blame me if Paul leaves next summer.’
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville tweeted that the intervention was ‘terrible timing’, adding: ‘ Surely Paul knew (Raiola) was making this announcement? If not, we should see a quote from him very soon correcting his agent.’ Solskjaer’s side, meanwhile, kick off at the RB Arena in Germany tonight still needing a draw to be sure of going through to the knockout phase.
Defeat would dump them into the Europa League, regardless of Paris Saint- Germain’s result against Istanbul Basaksehir.
For a team who have led this group for much of the qualifying campaign, it’s far from ideal, but Solskjaer has been here before. ‘It’s tradition for Man United, we never make it easy for ourselves. Through history it goes down to the last game,’ said Solskjaer, who knows plenty about dramatic European nights at United.
‘That’s just the way we do things. We make it hard for ourselves, that’s been ever since I played. When we saw this group, we didn’t expect to be through before the last game.
‘Of course, we could have done it ourselves before now, but we’re pleased to have this chance.’
United still deserve credit for seizing the initiative in a group that includes PSG, last season’s losing Champions League finalists, and Leipzig, the team they beat in the last four. And Solskjaer backed his players yesterday to stand up and be counted as they look to complete the job.
‘Games like this, that mean you can go through if you win, are big,’ he added. ‘The players here are Man United players because they have qualities we look for.
‘I’m sure tomorrow night will prove the reason why they are here. They will show it. The character of the group is getting better and better. It’s something we want, games like this.’
United flew to Germany without injured strikers Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani yesterday, as well as the suspended Fred.
While neither Solskjaer nor Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann are putting too much stock by the 5-0 result at Old Trafford, the United manager can still draw reassurance from an impressive away record this season.
Aside from a damaging defeat in Istanbul, his players have won their other eight away games — coming from behind to win five times in the Premier League. Solskjaer admits there are shades of Sir Alex Ferguson’s great teams in the way United keep bouncing back, and believes the Leipzig players will have that in the back of their minds.
‘I can definitely see those traits coming back, and the belief coming back,’ he said.
‘I don’t know how many times we’ve come back and how many goals we’ve scored in the last ten or 15 minutes, but it’s a lot. That’s a big difference from last season.
‘With the fitness we’re getting, the spirit we’re getting, the pace we have, it’s great for us knowing we don’t give up.
‘The character is getting into the team.’
Solskjaer also knows it is not in United’s DNA to play for a draw, particularly given their erratic form of late. It is a result they have achieved only once in 17 games this season.
‘You’ve got to approach it as a 90-minute game,’ he said. ‘Anything can happen in any moment. You can’t sit back and hope for a 0-0 draw. That’s not in our genes, it’s not in the team’s genes, it’s not in the club’s genes. We want to go out there and win a game.’