Paul Pogba: Should Manchester United be happy with Mino Raiola’s statement? | Football news

Should Manchester United really be happy with Mino Raiola’s public statement about Paul Pogba’s frustration at Old Trafford? The Transfer Talk podcast discusses how the stars may have aligned for both the club and the player.

According to his agent Raiola, Pogba is unhappy with Manchester United and has to leave the club in the summer transfer window. Raiola also said United should consider getting rid of him or face the prospect of losing him in a free transfer because they have no intention of extending his current contract.

Although the timing seemed bad at first glance, on the eve of their crucial Champions League clash with RB Leipzig, and just days before the Manchester derby, ESPN Senior soccer analyst Gabriele Marcotti believes United can agree with everything Raiola says.

With Sky Sports NewsDharmesh Sheth, the Transfer Talk Podcast panel discusses who is to blame for Pogba’s form at United and which clubs could realistically sign him …

Is Raiola’s statement positive for Man Utd?

Gabriele Marcotti, ESPN Senior Soccer Analyst:

To me, it seems this is exactly what Raiola would say to United in private, and this is exactly what United expects to hear from Raiola in private. This is a negotiation, he is there to take care of Paul Pogba.

First, Raiola said that Pogba does not want to sign a new contract at this time, he did not say: “He will never sign a new contract.”

Secondly, it is not immediately clear to me whether United have offered him a new contract. Have you been offered a suitable new contract? Isn’t it something that involves a pay cut? If you haven’t been offered a new contract, it’s one of two things: either you stay and go for free, or United sells you.

United agrees with everything Raiola said. They wouldn’t discuss any of that, would they?

Maybe this is really positive for United. Because everyone knows that Pogba’s contract is ending, so the alternatives for United are twofold: they can pretend they want to stay with Paul Pogba, without offering him a new contract, so that we can sell him around Europe and try to get it. a club, so they can get some money back. In this way, Raiola presents it very, very clearly.

I’m not going to suggest that Raiola agreed on this statement with United beforehand, but I think if you are the decision makers at United, you have no problem with what Raiola said, because it shifts the focus to Raiola.

If Pogba goes and wins the Ballon d’Or elsewhere, United can say: “Raiola big, bad, wanted him to go.” Now the message is clear: Pogba is available and hopefully that will bring clubs to the door. I guess this is what United want, because they haven’t offered him a new contract!

Yes, it comes before a Manchester derby and before the Leipzig game. If he had come out and said it after United’s elimination, would it have been much better? In the end, I think Raiola and United played so well. Everything is there, everything is clear and the club can move on.

Man Utd can’t let it go for free

Dharmesh Sheth of Sky Sports News:

I think we are nearing the end of the game. If there’s no desire for Paul Pogba to sign a new contract, and let’s be honest, this comes from both sides, because Manchester United is also not in a hurry to tie him to a new contract, then United does indeed have two transfer windows to get. some money for Paul Pogba.

Can you imagine United reaching a situation where Paul Pogba goes free for the second time? It would just reflect badly on the club.

I don’t think United fans will be surprised that Pogba wants to leave, but what has left a sour taste above anything else was the timing of these comments from Mino Raiola.

What will have infuriated United even more is that there has been nothing from Pogba, no apology, nothing, just silence, and it was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who answered the questions. I would assume that silence indicates that everyone is aware of this.

Dybala, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr? Exchange possibilities for Real, Juve

Gabriele Marcotti, ESPN Senior Soccer Analyst:

This is going to be the big puzzle here. We have had the impact of the pandemic on the finances of all clubs, so if we take Raiola at his word and assume that United are happy to sell him in January, it will be difficult to put a number on him. If you go to Paul Pogba, you have to pay a lot of salaries, that’s not going to change, and you will have to find a number to pay United.

If you talk about Real Madrid and Juventus, you are talking about two teams that are already quite stretched. In the case of both clubs, they would be much more happy to offer players in exchange.

In Italy they have talked about the possibility of sending Paulo Dybala backwards for Pogba. That would be good for Juventus because Dybala wants a new contract, his form has dropped and United obviously had ties to Dybala in the past.

I don’t know what sense it makes for United because you already have Bruno Fernandes, Martial, Rashford, Greenwood, Cavani.

From the point of view of Real Madrid, likewise, to whom do you return on the other side? United’s direction of travel in the past has been that of the younger players in the long run.

The players that Real can send elsewhere, that are young and that United may want, you are looking at Rodrygo or Vinicius Jr, but does United need another winger? Especially when in the long run they’re looking at Jadon Sancho?

So I’m not sure who has the money to sign him, so United may be facing a big loss.

Is Pogba really the culprit of the form?

Dharmesh Sheth of Sky Sports News:

Pogba instantly becomes the scapegoat when something goes wrong at United. Yes, he is the £ 90 million player, but I have a certain degree of sympathy for him.

Let’s look at this from Pogba’s side: he has given Manchester United the peak years of his career. In those peak years, all Old Trafford coaches have said: “This Manchester United is in transition.”

Have you had a brilliant performance during your time at United? No. Both he and his agent will admit it. But United also has to take some responsibility for this.

If you spend £ 90 million on a player, surely there is an element to building your team around a player like that, and yet four years later, we still wonder where he is best.

When I look at France’s team for the World Cup, and of course it’s hard to compare them to United, Pogba was part of a three-man midfield that included N’Golo Kante and Blaise Matuidi. At United, he is often asked to play the role that Kante and Matuidi played for France in that World Cup final. Does that play off the strength of Paul Pogba?

I think it’s very easy to blame Pogba for everything that went wrong; sometimes you have to look at collective responsibility.

Has Paul Pogba performed his best performances for United? Maybe not. Has United done everything possible to adapt and get the best out of Pogba? You would have to question that. I think Manchester United must also look at itself.