Can Pogba save his career at Juventus?

 

In July 2016, Massimiliano Allegri issued a warning clearly intended for Paul Pogba. “Anyone who wants to leave Juventus has to think very carefully. Because right now, Juventus is in the group of the top four clubs in Europe," the Bianconeri strategist announced.

Unfortunately, that warning was not heeded. Although Pogba's agent at the time, Mino Raiola, always insisted that his client would only leave Juventus in time for "the right project and team", Pogba joined Jose Mourinho's Manchester United again. Basically, Raiola and Pogba made a mistake that couldn't be worse, in what is perhaps the most important decision of the midfielder's career.

Of course, the emotional factor was taken into account. Pogba doesn't really want to leave MU to go to Juventus in 2012. He is a fan of this team, as well as wants to prove himself at Old Trafford. Therefore, the French player was shocked to see the renewal negotiations collapsed. Raiola and then Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had a conflict during a meeting to decide on the player's future.

Raiola later shared in the Amazon Prime documentary that he felt United's offer was a mockery. Raiola bluntly told Ferguson, "With this money, my chihuahua wouldn't even want to walk on your training ground!" Ferguson's retirement allowed Pogba to return four years later; but it continues to be a sad low note.

The post-Ferguson collapse at Manchester United

In 2016, Manchester United was still struggling to regain its glory, even though Sir Alex Ferguson had retired three years earlier. The Old Trafford team is no longer one of the greatest strategists in football history. Instead, they have Ed Woodward.

Desperate to get United back on track, Woodward turned to Mourinho - acting like Josep Maria Bartomeu to manage your savings account. The relationship between Mourinho and Pogba did not last long. Ironically, Mourinho was sacked after leaving Pogba on the bench against Liverpool.

Woodward continues to make mistake after mistake in the transfer market. As a result, Pogba, who was 23 at the time of his return to Old Trafford, has essentially wasted the best years of his club career. Now at the age of 29, Pogba returns to Juventus once again in the hope of making up for lost time. Only thing, Juve at the moment is not a team of the caliber that Pogba left 6 years ago.

Juventus is at the same level as MU

Juventus is no longer in the group of 4 strongest teams in Europe. It is true that Juve reached the Champions League final a year after Pogba's departure, but since then they have not even made it past the quarter-finals.

The Allianz team's rapid decline is evidenced by the fact that they have been beaten by clubs with much smaller budgets over the past three years: Lyon, Porto and Villarreal. It's not hard to argue that Pogba's departure was a key factor in the weakening of a line that was formerly one of Juve's strongest points: the midfield.

When the Frenchman arrived in Turin as a CNTD from Manchester United in 2012, he was surrounded by Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio. While Antonio Conte has convinced Pogba to turn down Arsenal and Chelsea, as he will have plenty of opportunities in the Juve first team, it is thought the teenager's game time will be carefully tempered, at least in the player's first season.

However, Pogba played non-stop until the end of the 12/13 season. At the very first training session, his natural physique, outstanding technique and limitless potential impressed some of the biggest names in world football at the time.

"He is very young, but we can see that he is very special," Pirlo told The Telegraph. "On the way back to the dressing room after training. Gianluigi Buffon laughed and said to me: 'Did they really let him go for free?!'"

How has Pogba been treated?

Manchester United have bought Pogba for a record £89 million. It is testament to the tremendous progress the French star has made at Juve, first under Conte, then Allegri.

Conte has even changed his tactics, just to make room for his jewel on the left in a three-man midfield - a move Pogba admits was crucial to his first call-up. to the French team.

Meanwhile, Allegri pushed Pogba even higher in the player's final season in Turin. This is a decision to best promote the creative qualities of the French player - in the context that Juve gradually proved to be slow and met

In fact, not long after the 14/15 Champions League final, Pogba was handed the number 10 shirt. It was a very deliberate move on the part of Juve, both to praise and as a public attempt to rub it off. calm him, when the talk about the midfielder's departure from Turin is appearing dense (in no small part due to Raiola). Pogba's commitment to Juventus will allow CEO Beppe Marotta and his associates to build a new midfield around him.

Instead, Pogba arrived at MU. It was a transfer that made financial sense for both Pogba and Juve, but neither side factored in timing.

Juve misses Pogba as much as Pogba misses Juve

Juve have spent the past six seasons trying - and failing - to find a player that is a combination of strength and skill. Most importantly, that person has to be a threat to the opposition's goal in their midfield.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is a perfect replacement. But the Serbian never went to Turin for a variety of reasons, from the fact that Lazio would not sell him for less than nine figures, to Juve's financial problems after the pandemic.

It is a fact that in the summer Juve made 105 million euros from the sale of Pogba, Beppe Marotta made a somewhat unusual purchase, signing Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli for 90 million euros. A deal that caused a lot of controversy, because it only really worked for one season.

After Juve made another big gamble in attack, this time on Cristiano Ronaldo, Marotta left the team shortly after. The Bianconeri's transfer business began to seriously decline. Marotta's successor and former right-hand man Fabio Paratici is paying the price for a series of odd signings in 2021.

That is why Pogba will have to play with Arthur, Adrien Rabiot, Weston McKennie, Denis Zakaria and Manuel Locatelli, instead of Pirlo, Vidal and Marchisio as in the past.

It was not a significant step up from the mediocrity with which he felt he was besieged at Old Trafford. Even so, the fact that Scott McTominay and Fred have become more reliable midfield pairing than any Pogba-related option shows the disastrous nature of the player's second return to Manchester. Pogba has become insignificant after playing football in England.

"Go away, Pogba!"

With such a potential player, it's quite surprising that Pogba has only made it into the PFA Team of the Year once in six years in the Premier League. It was the 18/19 season, when he scored more goals (13) and assisted (9) than any other United player. However, apart from the spectacular makeover under Mourinho from December to February, Pogba continued to disappoint under the successors of the Portuguese coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and then Ralf Rangnick.

Most of the time at MU, Pogba was nothing but frustration. The teardrop was officially over in his final season at United, with the focus being in the home game against Norwich in April.

"Go away, Pogba!" Many fans shouted in the Stretford stands, as he left the field to boos after another lackluster performance. At that stage, it felt like Pogba was becoming the symbol of an overpaid smug man who proved to be more useful to United's marketing than the team.

MU fans were then overjoyed when Pogba left. In the opposite direction, the midfielder's colleagues born in 1993 at Juve were also delighted when he returned. That perfectly concludes the two extremes of Pogba, as a player and as a person.

Return to the ego

However, it is worth noting that there has not been any animosity towards Pogba's personality, fashion or off-field activities during his time at Juventus.

Gigi Buffon describes the French star training well, as well as being a great teammate. The legendary goalkeeper once advised the young Pogba not to worry about criticism from the outside: "Just cut your hair, dress as you like: how you play on the pitch is what matters." Obviously, Pogba does not often have impressive performances in the MU shirt. Of course, it wasn't always his fault. This team's problems are much worse than that.

Pogba - and his late agent Raiola - have contributed to the endless controversies at Old Trafford, but he is also the victim in this story.

Perhaps Pogba will learn from experience. Perhaps it will be a lesson for him to face what awaits at Juve. Perhaps rejoining Juve will bring out the full potential of this midfielder.

However, this time, the pressure will be on Pogba's shoulders. There won't be world-class players around him in midfield. Nor were there any legends he could rely on.

Pirlo and Buffon are long gone. Captain Giorgio Chiellini has also found a new place, along with Pogba's friend Paulo Dybala. Even the supposed new leader of the team, Matthijs de Ligt has just Join Bayern Munich.

De Ligt's departure will raise funds for Juventus to strengthen the squad - with Nicolo Zaniolo and Gleison Bremer being top targets. Juve are clearly in transition, though, as they finished fourth in Serie A last season.

They have had three different coaches over the past three seasons. Doubts remain: whether Allegri, with his pragmatic football brand, is really the right person to help the Old Lady regain her former glory.

With Dusan Vlahovic, they have a potential star ahead. The return of Federico Chiesa from injury will also add a completely different dimension to the attack.

However, this is not a strong squad of Juve. Exactly, it's the product of mixed thoughts in the transfer market (the addition of Angel di Maria is particularly confusing, given their previous emphasis on squad rejuvenation).

Many people think that Pogba only really excels in strong teams (at club level with Juventus back in the day and at national level with France). Of course, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Shining in a strong team is always easier. Even so, good players can completely carry the whole team. That is exactly what Allegri will ask of him regularly next season.

There is an understandable fear: given what has happened at United, Pogba will not be up to the task in a Juventus shirt. However, after the defeat at Manchester, it is easy to see why Pogba has decided to return to Turin, where he is happiest both on and off the pitch.

However, after 6 years since moving to Old Trafford, it is difficult to get rid of the doubts that once again Pogba has chosen the wrong project, at the wrong time...