Star made a mistake returning to Manchester United, says pundit

Garth Crooks has made it clear that he feels Paul Pogba made a mistake returning to Manchester United when he did, even if he doesn’t agree with the perception that the Juventus and France midfielder has wasted his career.

Pogba is often talked up as something of a wasted talent, and those claims are being made again now that the former Man Utd ace has been slapped with a four-year ban for doping, which he has said he will appeal.

Crooks has pointed to Pogba’s trophy cabinet to make it clear he doesn’t believe there’s really an argument for saying the 30-year-old can’t look back and be happy with the success he had in Serie A, while of course he also won the World Cup in 2018, scoring for France in their final victory over Croatia.

Pogba’s Manchester United return was a mistake

Still, Pogba notably struggled during two spells at Old Trafford, firstly as a youngster when he barely got into the first-team, and then later in a second spell when he returned to the club in a big-money transfer from Juventus.

Crooks believes that’s the main blot on Pogba’s career, as he didn’t achieve anything with MUFC despite the significant investment in bringing him to the club.

“The headline ‘The wasted talent’, which referred to the four-year suspension imposed this week on Juventus and former Manchester United player Paul Pogba for doping offences, made me chuckle,” Crooks said in his BBC Sport column.

“He certainly is an enigma; a complicated and inconsistent player without doubt, but no right-minded football person could ever argue that his talent has been wasted – he won four Italian Serie A titles and a World Cup for goodness sake. There can only be a handful of players anywhere in the world with that sort of record.

“Pogba’s mistake was returning to Manchester United for a staggering £89m, and not just failing to win the Premier League, but not even coming close. That is why the France superstar will never acquire the legendary status afforded by United fans to the likes of Bryan Robson, Roy Keane or David Beckham, none of whom had Pogba’s gifts or won the World Cup.”