Almost exactly a year ago, Paul Pogba suffered his first injury after returning to Juventus, a situation that has cost the club dearly.
The 30-year-old Frenchman returned to Turin on a free transfer last summer, signing a four-year deal worth around €8m net per season with €2m in add-ons. The hope was that he could enter the renaissance of his career after a difficult end to life with Manchester United.
Things didn’t go to plan. Pogba suffered a knee injury in July last year and the resulting surgery in September kept him out of action until late February.
After briefly returning, he suffered a muscle injury, sidelining him for another two months. Three cameo appearances followed before his season came to an end early due to a hamstring issue.
Pages eight and nine of today’s Gazzetta dello Sport analysed how much Pogba’s first season back at Juventus truly cost the club, revealing an almost unbelievable figure.
Considering that the Frenchman only saw 161 minutes of action across 10 total appearances last season, he earnt €49,689 for every minute spent on the pitch.
No other player comes close to matching this, with Eden Hazard costing Real Madrid €38,265 per minute, and Neymar and Lionel Messi costing Paris Saint-Germain €13,124 per minute and €9623 per minute respectively.