Emerging from the shadows, Paul Pogba – a red devil emblazoned on the side of his head – removed his hood, looked straight into the camera and uttered the words Manchester United fans had been waiting to hear: “I’m back”.
Advertisement
The Manchester rivals have also spent big on the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Nolito, Leroy Sane (all City), Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly (both United), and both clubs have a summer net transfer spend of over 40 per cent of their annual turnover.
Pogba won four Serie A titles during his time at Juventus, with United tracking his improvements closely ever since his departure as an interest in bringing him back to Old Trafford grew. It was like I just came back home.
On Sunday, with Pogba given permission to undergo a medical, manager Jose Mourinho said he felt the 23-year-old was coming to the “perfect” place for him to become the best player in the world.
“I know some people think that he arrives here now and, the first time he touches the ball, he scores, but I’m here to protect him and give him the best conditions to be what we think he is going to be, which is a football player for Man United, a reference for this club”. And, personally, one of my dreams is to win the Ballon d’Or.
“That will come with time hopefully, but first the Premier League – I’ve never done it”. “In those two areas he is the best and will only get better in the next ten years”.
‘You can’t prevent it so I guess you just have to embrace it and do as well as you can in that environment’.
From a United fan’s point of view, this has been the flawless transfer window.
United is one of the few clubs in world football that could afford this outlay, though.
Pogba, who’s signed a five-year contract with Man. Opening the door for in the next couple of years back to winning titles.
Months of speculation and negotiation finally came to an end in the early hours of Tuesday morning when United made the official announcement they had re-signed Pogba from Juventus.
The France midfielder, whose strength and range of passing should allow United to play a more expansive game than the limited style adopted by Dutchman Van Gaal, has been hot property during the off-season with Real Madrid also hovering.
Advertisement
However, fellow midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger appears to have already played his last game for the club. “He is young and will continue to improve; he has the chance to be at the heart of this club for the next decade and beyond”. His price tag has seen United receive criticism from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. “But I think a big club like we are, we need to have this mentality”. “So at Man United, it can happen”. “He wanted to keep me, but I’d made my decision to leave”, Pogba has said.
