Former Juventus midfielder Emerson advises Paul Pogba not to follow in his footsteps by leaving the club too early.
The Brazilian left the Turin giants in 2006 at the height of the Calciopoli scandal, following Fabio Capello to Real Madrid after two seasons in Turin, but cautions Pogba to think carefully before leaving.
“When I left Juventus to follow Capello to Spain, Juve were in a different situation than the current side,” Emerson explained in an interview with Tuttosport.
Former Juventus midfielder Emerson advises Paul Pogba not to follow in his footsteps by leaving the club too early.
The Brazilian left the Turin giants in 2006 at the height of the Calciopoli scandal, following Fabio Capello to Real Madrid after two seasons in Turin, but cautions Pogba to think carefully before leaving.
“When I left Juventus to follow Capello to Spain, Juve were in a different situation than the current side,” Emerson explained in an interview with Tuttosport.
“Calciopoli had broken, and the club needed to raise funds by selling players. I accepted Real Madrid’s offer, knowing I was moving to one of the best clubs in the world.
“However, now after some time and being a little bit older I would act differently. I was fine at Juve, I’m sorry I left.
“Pogba? This is just my personal experience, each situation is different and a player has to make a decision based on their feelings at the time.
“Having said that, leaving Turin this summer would be different to 2006. Real Madrid are always one of the world’s top teams, but now Juve have returned to their historical level: dominant in Italy and aiming to win in Europe.
“If Pogba stays, alongside the likes of [Carlos] Tevez, [Andrea] Pirlo and [Arturo] Vidal and maybe a big signing, the distance to the superpowers narrows.
“It depends on what Pogba wants, but one thing is for sure, when you change teams you have to start again from the beginning.
“At Juve, Pogba is protected, comfortable and has a near-phenomenon in Pirlo alongside him to help him.
“I struggle to compare him [Pogba] to other players of the past because he has unique attributes.
“He’s a mix of Brazilian technical ability and European solidity. He combines fantastic shooting ability with incredible intelligence in reading the game.
“Paul is a bit like the favourite son at Juventus, if I were him I’d think ten times about leaving a situation like that.
“At Real Madrid or Barcelona he’d be starting from scratch and expected to prove himself very quickly.
“Will he leave? In football anything can happen, but there are some players who if you close your eyes and picture them you only see them in one shirt.
“[Zinedine] Zidane for example, despite his years at Juventus I would only associate with the Real jersey.
“I can’t picture Pogba in other colours, although I’d be curious to see him in a different environment.
“It’s definitely true that he’d join up with [Carlo] Ancelotti in Madrid, the best [Coach] alongside [Pep] Guardiola.”
Emerson also had harsh words for Rudi Garcia, who has declared his Roma side will win the Scudetto, and subsequently fallen seven points behind Juventus.
“It’s not over yet, the Italian League is unpredictable,” the former Giallorossi man considered.
“Garcia? In my day, words like that were never uttered, even in the dressing room. I would not have done that even with a 10 or 12 point lead.”