Graeme Souness: “the worst thing that happened to [Pogba] was winning a World Cup”

Graeme Souness continues to discuss Paul Pogba, asserting that the French midfielder’s decline began after his World Cup victory, despite Pogba no longer being in the Premier League.

Souness openly expressed his views on Paul Pogba during the midfielder’s six years at Manchester United. Pogba, the £89.3m signing, had an inconsistent tenure in his second spell with the club, ultimately departing to Juventus on a free transfer in the summer of 2022.

Injuries hampered the 30-year-old’s participation at Juventus, and he was sidelined during the 2022 World Cup as France reached the final. The midfielder, who had only played twice in the current season, faced another setback when he failed a drug test.

Graeme Souness is engaged in analysing where things went down hill for Paul Pogba, one of his regular subjects of criticism, though in his interview with talkSPORT there seems to be a degree of sympathy for the player from the Scotsman.

“He had the equipment to be the best midfielder in the world,” the 70-year-old stated.

“The worst thing that happened to him was winning a World Cup, because he could turn and say, ‘I am a World Cup winner’. I think at that point, it was him going backwards.”

The Frenchman is currently facing a four-year ban due to failed drug tests.