Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has insisted that he did not join Juventus for money, explaining Sir Alex Ferguson ‘broke his heart’.
Pogba initially left United for Juve on a free transfer in 2012, in a move many thought had been motivated by money, with agent Mino Raiola playing a role.
However, the Frenchman maintains the transfer only came about after he was overlooked for a Premier League match in 2011, despite the Red Devils having ‘no midfield’ at the time.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has insisted that he did not join Juventus for money, explaining Sir Alex Ferguson ‘broke his heart’.
Pogba initially left United for Juve on a free transfer in 2012, in a move many thought had been motivated by money, with agent Mino Raiola playing a role.
However, the Frenchman maintains the transfer only came about after he was overlooked for a Premier League match in 2011, despite the Red Devils having ‘no midfield’ at the time.
“It was a very difficult decision for me, with the manager as well and everything with the contract,” he told UTD Podcast.
“It wasn’t the contract but more like the trust with the manager. Obviously, the manager, for me, is still the best manager in history.
“When they asked me to sign the contract, if I didn’t sign, a lot of things happened. I didn’t train, I went back to training by myself and stuff like this.
“It made me a bit angry and was nothing about the money. It’s just about you’re a player, we believe in you, you believe in you and, me, I just want to play football. That is all I want. I want to play.
“When I had, like I’ve said before, the chance to play or to come on in this game against Blackburn, that’s when really I had heartbreak.
“There was no midfield here – people were injured, [Paul] Scholes wasn’t there, I think he’d retired already and it was before he came back.
“Rafael played in midfield with Ji-sung Park and I didn’t come on in this game. We lost the game. I was on the bench warming up and I thought I would come on and it was a big opportunity for me. I didn’t and things happen.
“The manager has a choice in everything but that day is when I had my heart broken. I told Pat [Evra] that was the chance, I’d been training with him and he’d been talking to me and saying I would have a chance. But that happened, I didn’t play and I was kind of upset.
“So I went to Juventus, which was a hard decision for me. Hard because it was going to another club as well where I was obviously not as one of the starting XI but I’ve got to come as a young player. A young, talented player and you have to show yourself again.
“I went and it was a big challenge for me. I said: ‘Go for it, no problem. I want to show I am ready to play for the team’.”
The 27-year-old scored 34 goals and provided 40 assists in 178 official games for Juve before returning to Old Trafford in 2016, winning four Scudetti and reaching a Champions League Final.