At Manchester United, Juventus, and of course the French team, Patrice Evra rubbed shoulders with and even supported Paul Pogba. According to him, the former full-back, now 43, watched over the precocious talent that was La Pioche for a long time, willingly becoming a big brother to channel and guide the future monster of the French midfield as best he could.
As soon as the 18-year-old arrived at Manchester United, Patrice Evra took him under his wing, as he explains in the Stick to Football podcast. It’s not about being a big fan of Paul Pogba, it’s about being his big brother. It’s about protecting him. I was tough on him when I joined Juventus. One day he told the press: ‘I deserve to win the Ballon d’Or’. I said: ‘Wait a minute, have you ever heard Lampard say that? Have you ever heard Iniesta, Xavi or someone else say that? Calm down, you’re not ready for this…’
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“I tried to protect Paul”
The lack of maturity of a player who was too quickly praised has inevitably played tricks on him. On this subject, Patrice Evra, relayed by RMC, tells an anecdote that in his eyes says a lot. The scene takes place before a Premier League clash between United and Liverpool.
The night before the game, I was on FaceTime with him, and I saw a lot of people in his room. He was signing jerseys, so I asked him if he was ready for the game. Told him he was. I remember it was one of the worst games he ever played. He told me after the game that I was right, that he wasn’t focused. But it was his entourage… his entourage that let him down! »
Therein lies the whole problem with Paul Pogba according to his former chaperone. With Paul, you see him like that, but inside he’s not that strong and he protects himself, and that’s why I tried to protect Paul, because sometimes it was unfair. People talked more about his hairstyle or his dancing than judging him on the pitch. Even sometimes, he wasn’t playing, they said: “United lost because of Paul Pogba…” »
In 2016, his record transfer for 105 million euros between Juve and Manchester United did not help the interested party to keep his feet on the ground. And even less so his entourage. If he was an important link in the world consecration of the Blues in 2018, Paul Pogba has since continued to decline. Victim of an extortion attempt, seriously injured in the knee and now suspended for doping with testosterone, the child of Lagny-sur-Marne, at 31 years old, has not played for a year now…
