Pogba and Co are treating United with contempt
If THeRe is a sign of how far Manchester United have fallen, it is that their biggest names are now treating them like a relegated club. The disrespect, the disregard, the selfish manipulation of circumstances.
Relegated clubs are viewed with contempt by their players, and the same is happening to United.
To hear that Paul Pogba is considering his future because he is alarmed by United’s decline, or that David de Gea wants dialogue over future transfer targets before committing, or Romelu lukaku thinks he made a mistake and now dreams of playing in Serie A — well, whose fault is that?
United’s players are relating to the club’s shortcomings as if divorced from them — the way relegated players often do.
It is a familiar scenario. A club goes down and the stars — the ones who have underperformed to put them in this mess — are linked with summer transfers, as if they have been hitting a level that should attract suitors.
And the fans and owners have little choice but to accept it. They know they can only offer Championship football next season, that finances will be hit, and there are few bargaining chips.
They may advance spirited words of resistance for public consumption, but privately they see the reality. fulham are unlikely to keep Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ryan Sessegnon is refusing to discuss his future, too.
The ones a club might want to keep are the first to announce their intention to leave.
Those that yo- yo between the leagues are used to it. But for United, this is a new and disturbing sensation. Players
who’ve been largely responsible for this crash are now talking about next season as if the club has no say in what it holds for them. That is insulting. United have not been in this position since the dawn of the Premier league era. even Cristiano Ronaldo did not act as if he was bigger than the club — and he experienced success which is little more than a dream for the current generation. There are people at a senior level within United who believe Pogba’s transfer to Real Madrid is already done. Not done in a way a transfer fee has been agreed. Done in that Pogba (below) has made up his mind and agreed in principle to go, and his representatives have negotiated broad terms with his new club. It is presumed from here that Real Madrid will come up with a ball-park figure to get United to the table and that, whether United’s hierarchy want to sell or not, they will ultimately be bullied into accepting. Maybe that is for the best. Pogba looks like part of the problem, not the solution at United.
Yet the presumption is extraordinary. One of the reasons United have trailed in the biggest competitions across three seasons is that Pogba has never delivered to his potential. And now he gets to leave on his terms?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was right in saying De Gea is not the reason United are sixth after his latest blunder, but he is certainly not helping.
His confidence has collapsed, along with his form, and he has recently been running at an error a game. Is this really the time to suggest he wants assurances about future signings? He should not even be given an assurance about his place, short- term, considering his understudy, Sergio Romero, has never let the club down when promoted.
There was always sympathy for De Gea’s position at United. He has been their most consistent player, and one of the finest