Why United can justify paying so much for Pogba
PAYING £89million for a footballer seems outrageous. All the more so when he was at your club and left for next to nothing at the age of 18. Yet the more you break it down, it becomes normal.
Even saying it is normal seems ridiculous. But in the case of Paul Pogba, he may end up justifying the world-record fee Manchester United paid for him.
He is an excellent midfielder whose all-round game would score 8/10 in every aspect: attacking, defending, tackling, heading, pace, shooting. There are not many players of his calibre and that’s why he has cost so much.
The transfer market has moved on from the days when a world-record fee guaranteed a player who would deliver, such as Zinedine Zidane, the Brazilian Ronaldo or Cristiano Ronaldo. Players of that quality, like Leo Messi, do not tend to leave their clubs now. So the most expensive buys are those who look to have the potential to be that kind of star. And Pogba certainly has such potential.
There are so many elements that make sense from United’s point of view. First, break down the fee over his five-year contract and ask whether he is worth about £18m a season?
Admittedly, he is not quite the finished product — and that is where the element of risk comes in. He’s not as creative as a Toni Kroos or as strong defensively as N’Golo Kante or a goal machine like Frank Lampard. But he has all of those qualities, wrapped up in one player.
Positions tend to be moulded these days: you’re either an Oscar, a creative midfielder, or a Kante, a holding one. Pogba offers both and more. If he can lift his game so that one of those elements becomes 9/10 rather than 8/10 he will become the dominant player United need.
They are a money-making machine who have not won the title in three years and the lack of quality in their football has not dented that ability — yet.
Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and the Glazer family, who own the club, know they are judged by results and, ultimately, by shareholders. If they cannot deliver on the pitch then revenues will slow down. With Pogba now on board, I imagine Jose Mourinho is looking at the depth of his squad knowing he has a great chance of winning the title.
The key signings in Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have lifted the overall quality. They have turned the squad from being mediocre by United’s standards to being more like the United of old in terms of the depth.
The likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Memphis Depay, Daley Blind, Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini, Phil Jones and Morgan Schneiderlin are likely to be bench players. It won’t please them, but it does suit the club.
You know you are going to achieve consistency when you have players like that to come in. And Pogba can make a difference which accounts for so much more than just his cost.
Consider, too, how United fell in status. They were always the team of the megastar. From what Duncan Edwards might have become, through to George Best. Sir Bobby Charlton or Denis Law, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, they have been built on glamour. It has been hard to say that in the last five years, with Wayne Rooney the only real global star. Giggs was, of course, but he was at the end of his career. It’s been a long time since someone iconic has been centre stage and now, in Pogba and Ibrahimovic — who is past his best — they have two.
And the glamour has developed since the old days when it was about getting the best players to obtain results. The whole announcement of Pogba’s arrival demonstrated that. There was a Hollywood-style trailer announcing: ‘I’m back!’ And a rap video collaboration with Stormzy.
It wasn’t quite up to the standards of Diamond Lights, but it was a glitzy affair, all designed to persuade young people to buy his shirt! And I’m sure such marketing will succeed.
Sponsors will be more comfortable with the sums they have paid United for their deals, not least the shirt manufacturers, who also sponsor Pogba. Those sponsors will be more likely to renew at higher rates if Ibrahimovic and Pogba make an impact and United will be confident they can pull back plenty of the cash they spent.
Yet Pogba also needs to be a success on the pitch. You can’t have superstar status without superstar delivery. That’s why I hope Jose Mourinho plays him far enough forward to showcase his real strength — powering past people and getting in the box. He had a holding role for France at the Euros and his abilities were being limited. He can’t have a free rein, but I hope he’s not reined in.
It looks as though Mourinho wants to play a striker such as Wayne Rooney in the pocket behind Ibrahimovic.
If so, I hope Pogba is the mostattacking midfielder, rather than sitting alongside Michael Carrick. He needs that freedom to be at his best. And his best can be absolutely superb; good enough to help United to the title and good enough to start paying off huge chunks of that outrageous fee.