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Paul Pogba came in as a substitute in the second half when Manchester United was eliminated from the Champions League.
Paul Pogba needs to leave Manchester United and a transfer out of the club would suit everyone involved, says his former defender Phil Neville.
France’s Mino Raiola’s agent said on Monday the midfielder is “unhappy” and “needs to change teams.”
Pogba returned to Old Trafford for £ 89 million in 2016, but has endured a turbulent second stint at the club.
“In the end, the inevitable is going to happen that Pogba has to leave United,” Neville told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Pogba came off United’s bench and scored when they were knocked out of the Champions League with a 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old has made just eight Premier League appearances this season, five as a starter, and scored his first league goal of the campaign on Saturday.
“The agent’s comments, for me, were planned in advance, pre-rehearsed, knowing when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was doing his press conference, knowing exactly the right words to use,” Neville added, referring to the fact that Raiola’s comments They emerged after Solskjaer had spoken to the media on Monday.
“When I read those comments I was not surprised, it was not a bomb. Paul is not happy, he does not look happy, he is not playing to his full potential and he has not been in a long time.
“In the end, the inevitable will happen that Pogba has to leave United. The sooner you get rid of players like Pogba, players who don’t want to be there, in a dressing room that thinks in the long term with energy and that vision of maybe win something: you have to sift the weeds.
“For the moment, Pogba needs to get out of that locker room and that would suit everyone at United and Pogba as well.”
‘Time is disgusting’
Rio Ferdinand spent 12 years at Manchester United and witnessed forward Wayne Rooney flirting with a move away from Old Trafford in 2013.
The former defender told BT Sport that Solskjaer and the club should consider how Sir Alex Ferguson handled that situation as a guide on what to do with World Cup winner Pogba.
“The timing is unpleasant for a major player agent, but I am going to shift the focus to Manchester United, Solskjaer and [executive vice-chairman] Ed Woodward, “Ferdinand said.
Rooney tried to leave Old Trafford twice in three seasons, but Ferguson wouldn’t let him.
“How do you allow an agent to come in and talk like this? This isn’t the first time Mino has talked about it. They should have nipped it in the bud the first time it happened.
“He was at United when Rooney was talking about leaving. Ferguson went to the media and said his agent had given him bad advice and that I’m going to nip him in the bud. A few days later he signed a new contract.”
“If I was a player, I would say ‘shut up, don’t speak on my behalf and make me look bad’. Pogba should own that situation, not be dictated. Every other player who comes in, his agent is going to appear in the newspaper talking if they are unhappy.
“Donny Van de Beek comes in, he doesn’t play and after the first month his agent is speaking in the media. How is that happening?
“This affects the mood at the club and the more Manchester United allows this to happen, the more under a cloud.
“Georginio Wijnaldum is an important player at Liverpool who was not playing at the beginning of the season. He may have a new negotiated contract. You don’t see his agent come out and speak because you know he will be slapped. [Jurgen] Klopp “.
‘You have to ask Paul if he’s happy or not’
Solskjaer’s first opportunity to speak publicly about Raiola’s comments came in his pre-match interview at the Leipzig field.
He dismissed the suggestion that the comments had been a distraction in the preparation for the game, saying that his decision to omit Pogba from the starting lineup was “tactical.”
After the game, he added: “You have to ask Paul if he’s happy or not, I can’t speak for him. He’s working hard in training and he needs to focus on his performances.
“Now is not the time to discuss the ins and outs of transfers at the club.”
At his press conference, Solskjaer said: “As soon as Paul’s agent realizes it’s a team sport, the better. I don’t want to waste energy on that.”
The former United Scholes midfielder said he “doesn’t think the club has to respond” to Raiola’s comments.
“Paul Pogba is the problem,” he told BT Sport. “He pays this man to represent him and he represents him badly because Paul is a good boy, but looking from the outside people will think that he is a bad boy and that he is a problem in the locker room. He is not. He does not need to tell them either. . to shut up or fire him.
“Manchester United have enough on their plate trying to get the team where it needs to be.
“A locker room leader like Harry Maguire should be telling him in the locker room, ‘Call your agent on the way home and tell him to shut up or fire him.’
Another former United midfielder, Owen Hargreaves, added: “The only person who benefits from this is the agent.
“Manchester United do not have the player they expected, Pogba’s actions are not where they were. Paul is a good boy, but he should not let the agent speak.”
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Source: bbc.com
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