Paul Pogba has opened up with a fresh perspective on his Man United career, his recent 18-month ban and the next club he will play for
In a new emotionally-charged interview, Paul Pogba has opened up about the most difficult trials and tribulations of his football career. These range from leaving Manchester United the first time, depression experienced under Jose Mourinho’s reign and his private thoughts about quitting football amid the possibility of a four-year doping ban.
Pogba, 32, spent the majority of his career as a Man United player. This started when only a teenager before leaving to join Juventus, then eventually the Frenchman returned to complete 233 appearances at the heart of Old Trafford’s midfield.
“I was really sad when I left Manchester at 19. At first, I cried,” he has admitted to GQ Magazine. “Coming back to this club that was so close to my heart was always my goal.
“[Returning] in the end, it was good for everyone. For Manchester, for adidas, and for me. Everyone benefited from it.”
During his second spell in England between 2016 and 2022, Pogba was part of Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup-winning sides. On the international stage his country also became world champions with him integral to that endeavour.
But the Premier League evaded his and Man United’s grasp, which explains why he saw five different managers come and go during this spell of his career. One of those was Jose Mourinho – a man he has not been shy to be critical of in the past – and now he has gone into fresh detail to explain to just how much anguish he felt in those years.
“I didn’t understand. I was a player with a big role in the team, and suddenly, I found myself on the bench. I couldn’t speak, there was no communication,” he added.
“I wasn’t happy, and a football player who isn’t happy can’t perform well. I fell into depression without even realising it. Because no one teaches us what depression is.
“Until I started having holes in my scalp. I didn’t understand what it was. They told me it was stress.”
Pogba’s Man United career came to and end three summers ago, at which point he re-joined Juventus. This experience was cut short in August 2023, when the midfielder was slapped with a four-year ban over an allegation of taking an illegal performance enhancing substance.
Upon appeal, this sentence was reduced to only 18 months, to which he has also admitted to GQ: “If I had been given a four-year sentence, I would have quit football. I didn’t want to say it publicly, but that’s what I thought.”
Reflecting on his time out, the 32-year-old described: “I would take the ball and play by myself outside. I made do with what I had.
“But I didn’t want to stay in Turin. In the morning, I would drop my kids off at school, and it was right next to the training ground, what a pain… I didn’t understand.
“Why? They gave me the maximum sentence, which meant they really hadn’t listened to anything I told them.
“Everything that happened to me changed me. I saw what ‘real’ life was. It had a complete cleansing effect on me. I suddenly aged ten years.”
Though in reality he has only aged a year-and-a-half since that ban came into force and having been able to train individually since January, Pogba has put in the hard work to ensure he can hit the ground running.
His career is now able to resume though first he must confirm which club he is going to play for. A return to Man United is all-but out of the picture, though he has a choice that could take him to any corner of the globe.
With a fresh pointer on his next steps, Pogba continued: “First of all, I can’t wait to play. You know, it’s been so long since I played football.
“I never imagined I’d be free at this time of the season. I’ve never really experienced a transfer like this. Today, there are offers. Coming from all over. From all over. I want to see what suits me best. Because I am in a crucial period of my life and career. It’s a decision I’m going to take the time to consider.”
“These trials have given me extra determination. I feel like a kid who wants to become a professional. I’ve become the little Paul Pogba from Roissy-en-Brie again, who’s going to make his mark.”
2025-04-08 20:11:10
