Paul Pogba candid on Manchester United struggles: ‘I had never known such a difficult period’

Paul Pogba battles with Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes during France’s win over Portugal
AFP via Getty Images
George Flood16 November 2020

Paul Pogba has lifted the lid on his recent struggles at Manchester United, admitting it has been the most “difficult period” of his career to date.

The French midfielder has made just five starts under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer across all competitions so far in 2020/21, attracting criticism from fans for his below-par displays and the conceding of costly penalties.

Excitement over a potentially devastating midfield partnership with Bruno Fernandes has all but dissipated during United’s disappointing start to the campaign, leading to more speculation that Pogba could soon bid farewell to Old Trafford for a second time amid rumoured interest from the likes of Real Madrid and former club Juventus.

Speaking to television station RTL over the weekend, the 27-year-old contrasted his ongoing United malaise with the joy of playing international football with a talented France side.

 “I had never known such a difficult period in my career,” Pogba said.

"The France team is a breath of fresh air, the group is exceptional, it's magic."

Despite his lack of club form, Pogba remains a key figure for Les Bleus and played 90 minutes against Fernandes in Lisbon on Sunday as Didier Deschamps’ side bounced back from a shock home friendly defeat by Finland with a 1-0 win over Portugal.

A second-half goal from influential Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante at the Estadio da Luz sealed France’s place in the Uefa Nations League finals and eliminated the holders from the competition in the process.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT