Man Utd: Paul Pogba drops huge ‘blocked’ transfer admission after he ‘mentally’ quit under Solskjaer
By Lewis Oldham,
1 days ago
France international Paul Pogba has revealed that he was “mentally” done with Manchester United after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho.
Pogba ‘s second spell at Man Utd was a rollercoaster and he ultimately failed to live up to expectations following his £89m transfer from Juventus.
The Frenchman left Man Utd on a free transfer in 2022 and he secured a return to Serie A giants Juventus.
His second stint at Juventus has been disastrous. He missed most of his debut season due to injury and in February 2024, he received a four-year ban for failing a drug test after non-endogenous testosterone was found in his system.
It’s recently emerged that Pogba’s ban has been reduced to 18 months, so he will be free to start playing again in March 2025.
The 31-year-old reckons his best season for Man Utd came in 2018/19 as he grabbed 13 goals and nine assists in the Premier League. He has also revealed that he wanted to leave the club after this campaign.
“The year Jose [Mourinho] went and Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] came, it was my best season at United but after the last game I told Ole and Ed Woodward that I thought it was my last year and that I wanted to leave.
“I was 27 back then, it didn’t work out the way I wanted. I gave my best but I didn’t see the club going upwards. Manchester City and Liverpool were better than us and they were improving.
“Ole said yes (to me leaving) and that he would talk to Ed [Woodward]. My head was already that I wanted to go but I came back for pre-season because I wanted to be professional.
“I spoke to Ed to try to make a move but he blocked it. I didn’t want to play for United anymore but I had to be professional. Mentally I wasn’t there and then I got the injuries.”
Pogba has also revealed what his “relationship” with former Man Utd boss Mourinho was like.
“Our relationship was like boyfriend and girlfriend, we were breaking up and making up all the time. It started great, he was one of the reasons I went back to Manchester because I spoke to him and he convinced me to come back,” Pogba added.
“I don’t know why it turned into a nightmare and us fighting. Because I wasn’t fighting. I didn’t start the fight.
“We disagreed like managers and players do sometimes. But there’s a lot of respect from me to him. If I see him tomorrow it’s a big hug! But one day we will have to sit down together and discuss it.”
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0