POGBA’S OFF TO OLEWOOD
United boss Solskjaer gives star his backing for big screen debut
PAUL POGBA’S contract saga is set to be played out in front of the TV cameras after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted he has no problem with Amazon’s potentially explosive documentary series about the Manchester United midfielder.
Solskjaer believes that his World Cup-winning French star is a natural for the screen – and is adamant that the programme will not intrude on the 28-year-old’s £300,000-a-week day job of winning games for the Old Trafford club.
The documentary is set for release in 2022 – and will capture Pogba during a critical stage of his career.
He has just over a year left on his United contract after the club were forced to trigger a 12-month extension option.
Pogba’s bullish super-agent Mino Raiola (below, top) has spent almost three years trying to force his client’s departure from the club following his record £90million return to United in 2016.
And it now appears the drama of deciding Pogba’s fate will be captured in High Definition by Amazon’s film makers. Solskjaer said: “Paul has been in the spotlight ever since he started at Man United, so I don’t see a problem with it.
“Paul’s main focus is to get as much out of his career as possible. He wants to be the best player he can be and he wants to win as many trophies as possible.
“He has already won the World Cup – and I can see his focus now is all about winning and playing the best possible football that he can.
“I know his personality. He is so lively. He gets energy from making people happy. But his main focus will always be to win football games for us.”
Pogba is a huge draw when it comes to United’s commercial activities.
And Raiola’s hand in any negotiations is strengthened further by his ability to demand a huge signing-on fee to bolster a bank-busting wage deal should the player become a free agent at the end of next season. Real Madrid have tried to prise Pogba away from Old Trafford for the last two summers, while Juventus are also long-term admirers. Solskjaer (right) has expertly manoeuvred himself around several barbed comments the agent has made about United over the past 12 months.
The United boss stepped up his own charm offensive by making
Pogba captain ahead of Bruno Fernandes (above, left) when Harry Maguire was suspended for the
Europa League win over Granada. Solskjaer was forced to substitute his stand-in skipper at half-time after Pogba picked up a booking and to run the risk of being sent-off and suspended for the semifinal.
After the game, the midfielder proved that mutual respect runs both ways by coming to his manager’s defence in his war of words with Tottenham’s former United boss Jose Mourinho. It was Mourinho who brought Pogba back to Old Trafford, four years after his departure to Juventus following his refusal to sign a new contract under Sir Alex Ferguson.
United are desperate not to lose Pogba for a second time – but their bid to convince him to sign a new deal could be laid bare by the company that has already produced compelling fly-on-the-wall documentaries about Manchester City, Tottenham and Leeds.