Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Gary Neville says there is ‘no winner’ in Paul Pogba, Man Utd situation as pundit reacts to exit swipe

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville

Gary Neville has reacted to the recent comments from Paul Pogba, saying there is ‘no winner’ between the central midfielder and Manchester United.

Pogba’s Amazon Prime documentary, The Pogmentary, came out in the UK on Friday. Within it he spoke about his exit from Manchester United, which will go through on July 1.

The France international is available on a free transfer as his Manchester United contract will expire at the end of the month.

Juventus are at the front of the queue to sign Pogba. It will see him go back to Turin, where he won four straight Serie A titles between 2012 and 2016.

It is a transfer disaster for United. They originally let Pogba go to Juve on a free transfer in 2012. The Red Devils would then pay a world-record £89million to bring him back to Old Trafford four years later.

The 29-year-old made 232 appearances for United during both spells, helping them to win the League Cup twice and the Europa League once.

However, he regularly came in for criticism from both pundits and the club’s fans. Pogba’s talent is obvious but he never won the Matt Busby Player of the Year award. That’s just one way of showing he underperformed.

In his documentary, Pogba criticises United by saying: “My thought process is to show Manchester [United] that they made a mistake in waiting to give me a contract.

Paul Pogba aiming to prove Man Utd wrong

“And to show other clubs that Manchester had made a mistake in not offering me a contract.

“How can you tell a player you absolutely want him and offer him nothing? Never seen that.”

During an appearance on TikTok (via the Daily Mail), Neville has reacted to those comments. However, he has criticised Pogba often in the past six years and is now allowing the player to do what he wants.

Manchester United trio confirmed to leave but who replaces them

Manchester United trio confirmed to leave but who replaces them

Manchester United will release Juan Mate, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba this summer, with two targets to replace them.

“I’m not bothered about Pogba’s comments to be honest with you. I think that once a player has left, he can say whatever he wants. Fine, no problem,” Neville said.

“But I don’t think he has performed well over the last six years. I don’t think the club have performed well with him either, or handled him well.

“It’s been a partnership that, to be fair, has failed on both sides so that is what you’d have to say on that one.

‘No winner’ in Pogba debacle – Gary Neville

“There is no winner when a player leaves after six years with the money that has been spent and very little has been won.

“The player leaves dissatisfied and the club are dissatisfied with it as well. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth because it’s the second time it’s happened.

“You wish him all the best in the future at Juventus.”

Frustratingly for United, Pogba is likely to perform well when he goes back to the Italian giants. He reunites with manager Max Allegri and has worked well under the coach before.

Pogba has always been a top-class operator for France, too. When partnered with N’Golo Kante in midfield, he excels and gets forward with the attackers.

But no United manager has ever really gotten the best out of Pogba. And all parties are to blame for that, including the player.

Frenkie de Jong could arrive as Pogba’s replacement at the Theatre of Dreams, and Erik ten Hag ‘expects’ that move to reach completion.