Last year, Paul Pogba had said that he would show Manchester United that they had made a mistake in not offering him a new contract sooner. This year, Pogba is on the verge of exiting Juventus with the Turin-based club slapping a meagre price tag on the player who was once considered the future of football. Somewhere along the line, the goodwill vanished with the fans and the club as Pogba’s latest comeback turned out to be a bust with the player playing just 161 minutes in total in a season hampered by injuries and a litany of personal problems.
But it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. When Pogba came back to Turin after the expiration of his contract at Manchester United, the Juve fans had queued up to welcome the boy who had left as a prodigal talent and returned as a World Cup winner.
But fate had other plans for the French midfielder at Juventus. Pogba was injured in the pre-season tour of the United States. It was a knee injury and surgery was recommended but Pogba went for non-invasive treatment in hope of making it to the French squad for the upcoming 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Juventus’ Paul Pogba down after sustaining an injury. (Reuters)
As we now know, that was the wrong decision as well with the French superstar ultimately getting surgery and missing the World Cup. After that it was setback after setback as injuries and personal problems began to pile up leading to Pogba spending more time off the field than on. The dream return was turning into some sort of a nightmare.
But life has a way of dangling hope in front of you before snatching it away. Pogba slowly regained full fitness and made cameo appearances from the bench against Atalanta and Sevilla in the Serie A and Europa League semifinal respectively. He even provided an assist in the Sevilla match and fans were hopeful that they had gotten their old Paul back.
On May 14, Pogba was all set to make his first start in a long time when Juventus faced Cremonese. The stadium was rapturous as the prodigal son had returned. But it was not to be. After just 24 mins, Pogba had to be taken off with another injury, which would turn out to be a low-grade lesion of the rectus femoris muscle. The music had stopped, the cheers silenced as Pogba left the field in tears with his first season back in tatters.
Goodwill eroded
He played a total of 161 minutes for Juventus last season and a lot of goodwill from the fans had eroded. Coupled with the on-field issues, the off-field ones were piling up too.
Last year, Pogba’s brother, Mathias, released videos taking aim at the World Cup winner. Mathias was also the one who was charged with trying to extort money from Paul. According to AP, Mathias said that his brother earned millions but left his family in poverty, mixed with criminals, and hired the services of a ‘witch doctor’ on more than one occasion, often to curse rival players. He detailed that the ‘curse’ against Kylian Mbappe came before the second leg of a Champions League tie between Manchester United and PSG in 2019, which United won 3-1. He also said he had been shot at, assaulted, and threatened by thugs because of his brother.
With his personal life going for a tailspin, Pogba recently opened up about his struggles where he said that his physical problems were the manifestations of his mental state. “When you are not well in the head, the body follows. I was stressed, my body was tense. And I wanted so much to come back quickly, to play and show people, to shut everyone up a bit,” he had said in an interview with French site Views.
The last one year has been a tough one for Pogba but he has vowed to come back stronger. With his name now being linked with Saudi Arabia and Juve reportedly transfer listing him for just 10 million Euros, it’ll be interesting to see how this latest saga in Pogba’s life unfolds.
Juventus’ Paul Pogba down after sustaining an injury. (Reuters)
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