Man Utd legend claims Paul Pogba was brought back to ‘humiliate’ Sir Alex Ferguson

Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra believes Pogba’s return to Old Trafford was to spite former manager Sir Alex Ferguson for banishing him from the club in 2012.

Evra is considered a Manchester United legend having won five Premier League titles and a single Champions League in 2008.

Pogba’s former international teammate was asked about why he thought the mercurial midfielder returned to Old Trafford and revealed that he had warned him against it, insisting the Glazer family – owners of the Red Devils – merely did it to “humiliate” Sir Alex Ferguson.

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Evra said: “Manchester United brought Paul Pogba back because they wanted to humiliate Sir Alex Ferguson. I told Paul to not go back because he wanted Real Madrid and Madrid wanted him, but Florentino Pérez didn’t want to pay the money.”

It’s believed that Ferguson sold Pogba to Juventus in 2012 for an attitude problem and Evra went on to recall a story about the Carrington graduate talking to the press about winning the Ballon d’Or.

“His agent called United, and he signed with him without telling me. The club was happy because they were selling shirts, you know the kids love Pogba – it was more commercial than anything on the pitch.

“It’s not about being a big fan of Paul Pogba, it’s about being his big brother,” Evra added. “It’s about protecting him. I was harsh with him when I joined Juventus.

“One day, he said to the press, ‘I deserve to win the Ballon d’Or’. I was like, ‘Wait a minute, did you ever hear [Frank] Lampard saying that, did you ever hear [Andrés] Iniesta, Xavi or whatever?’ And, I’m like, ‘Calm down, you’re not ready for that’.

“With Paul, you see him like that, but inside, he’s not that strong and he’s protecting himself, and that’s why I tried to protect Paul, because sometimes it [the criticism of him] was unfair. People were talking more about his hairstyle or his dancing than judging him on the pitch. Even sometimes he wasn’t playing, they were saying, ‘United lost because of Paul Pogba’.

“I feel like sometimes the press are not being fair with Paul Pogba. I can give you an example of when he played against Liverpool for the first time.

“The night before the game, I was on FaceTime to him, and I saw a lot of people in his room and he was signing shirts, so I asked him if he was ready for the game, and he said that he was.

“I remember that it was one of the worst games he played, so I spoke to him after the game, and he told me that I was right, and he wasn’t focused. But it was his entourage, his entourage let him down.”

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Mailbox: Man Utd to remove ‘last round peg’ after two signs of transfer ‘competence’
👉 Man Utd: ‘Ruthless’ Ten Hag sack decision demanded by pundit; ‘elite’ manager is the ‘ideal’ successor
👉 Mediawatch: Man Utd in ‘TRANSFER MAYHEM’; is Manuel Ugarte as good as the world’s best?

Former Liverpool icon Graeme Souness famously criticised Pogba on a regular basis which caught the eye of fans and former players including Evra.

“I had a good talk with Graeme Souness about Paul Pogba, and I asked him why he hated Pogba, but he told me that he didn’t,” Evra revealed.

“He found Pogba more frustrating, especially with his talent and quality. And that’s what I say to Paul. ‘Stop thinking people hate you. It’s because you frustrate them. You are an animal. When you run box to box, nobody can stop you’.”

Many Manchester United fan’s believed Pogba underperformed at the club despite winning trophies and putting up good numbers in his spell at the red side of Manchester.

Evra added: “In his first season back at Manchester United, Paul Pogba didn’t do badly, but they were expecting him to score 25 goals every season.

“He felt lost in his position as he was the one needing to cover for the other midfielders, so he got exposed when he went back to United.”

Pogba won the League cup and Europa League for the Red Devils before leaving in the summer of 2022.