POGBA IS HAIR APPARENT –
Paul Pogba has scored as many goals for Man Utd this season as he has sported different hairstyles. Is that REALLY all you get for £89m these days?
AS launches go, it was about as well conceived as the one which propelled Paul Pogba up into the air when he gifted Liverpool a penalty at Old Trafford 24 hours earlier.
One can only assume adidas’s plans to unveil Pogba’s new fashion range yesterday were so far advanced they could not be altered, despite the Manchester United midfielder’s lamentable display in the 1-1 draw.
The low point, of course, was that awkward, twisting leap to challenge Dejan Lovren which resulted in the Frenchman handling the ball right in front of referee Michael Oliver.
The France midfielder has vowed to bounce back, of course, addressing his 12million followers on Instagram yesterday by saying: ‘S**t happens. That’s when we need to be strong. I’m here, ready to fight and ready for the next one.
‘I’d like to thank the supporters who are always there and keep believing in me. At least we did not lose. Never stop fighting.’
In an interview with French broadcaster SFR Sport, Pogba also claimed that people expect too much from him following his £89million move to United.
‘With everything that happened, the transfer, changing club, returning to Manchester, people want me to score and make a difference in games,’ he said. ‘They say that, at that price, a player must score or provide assists. My role as a midfielder is not to score. I have to work for the team rather than think about myself.’
Yet, Sunday was not the first time Pogba has struggled to live up to expectations in the big games for United. While there is no doubt that his midfield displays are a major factor in the club’s 16-game unbeaten run, he has been noticeably less effective against top-four rivals Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City and now Liverpool.
When Jose Mourinho was asked about it before the match, the United boss was understandably defensive about his world record signing.
‘It is not fair to say a player has to be dominant,’ said Mourinho. ‘I am not expecting the team to play really badly and for one player to have all the weight on his shoulders — not Paul, not anyone.’
The trouble is, nobody has put more weight on the 23-year-old’s broad shoulders than United, club sponsors adidas and Pogba himself. While Mourinho was speaking on Friday, it was revealed Pogba became the first footballer to have his own emoji. It came complete with the new ‘PP’ logo that was shaven into Pogba’s latest hairstyle for the Liverpool match, and coincided with yesterday’s launch of the adidas x Pogba Collection.
The range includes a new boot that ‘comes with extra gold plating’, according to a press release from the sportswear company, and ‘Pogboom etched on the webbing’.
No Pogba announcement would be complete without a dance track, and this one is supported by a tune from Parisian rapper MHD.
It is reminiscent of his carefully choreographed return to Old Trafford from Juventus in August, which featured a music video of Pogba dancing to a rap song by Stormzy.
United and adidas worked closely together on that project, with the club’s official website carrying a succession of moody photos and videos bearing the slogan ‘#pogback’. In the months since we have witnessed colourful hairstyles and dance moves to go with some impressive, if hardly world-beating, performances on the pitch.
Quite what Sir Alex Ferguson, the man who signed Pogba as a 16-year-old from Le Havre in 2009, made of it all as he watched from the directors’ box on Sunday is anyone’s guess.
After all, quite a few talented footballers have passed through Old Trafford without the need for promotional videos or branding.
Sitting behind Ferguson with his father, Ted, was David Beckham, whose clashes with the former United manager over ‘Brand Beckham’ were partly to blame for his departure from the club.
United’s commercial monster has been let out of the cage since Ferguson retired in 2013, with Pogba undoubtedly its biggest beneficiary among the current playing squad.
Indeed, the shared links with adidas mean United are understood to be more than happy for Pogba to continue marketing himself in such a way, as the emojis were plastered over the pitch-side advertising on Sunday.
Yet, as he reaps the rewards of his latest venture, there is no escaping the fact he has only brought more pressure on himself.