Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has explained why Paul Pogba will captain Manchester United. Mourinho has stated that the frenchman will captain the Red Devils because of his links to the Manchester United academy.
Pogba returned to pre-season training on Monday after helping France to World Cup glory and was expected to be named on the bench against Leicester. Jose Mourinho pulled up a surprise by not only including the 25-year-old in his starting XI but naming his as the team’s skipper.
Antonio Valencia has succeed the retired Michael Carrick as Manchester United captain but is unavailable to face Leicester due to injury so Pogba has stepped up to the plate.
Speaking ahead of kick off, Mourinho said: “Antonio Valencia is the captain but he is not here so Paul Pogba is captain. He has come up through the academy and he knows what the club means.”
Mourinho has a limited pool to work with due to a number of players being on holiday after their exploits at the World Cup. Romelu Lukaku is on the bench but Nemanja Matic and Jesse Lingard are not in the 18-man squad.
“The players involved in the World Cup semi-finals started training on Monday and some of them are involved today to help the team,” Mourinho said. Nemanja Matic is unavailable, Jesse Lingard doesn’t feel he is in a position to help us but Romelu Lukaku can give us a hand from the bench.”
Despite a disappointing summer in the transfer market, United are expected to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title.
Born in Lagny-sur-Marne, Pogba showed much promise as a youngster, flourishing as a member of local youth teams. He eventually joined the youth team of Ligue 1 side Le Havre, before a protracted transfer brought him to Manchester United in 2009. After beginning his senior career with Manchester United two years later, limited appearances persuaded him to depart to join Italian side Juventus on a free transfer in 2012, where he helped the club to four consecutive Serie A titles, as well as two Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. During his time in Italy, Pogba further established himself as one of the most promising young players in the world, and received the Golden Boy award in 2013, followed by the Bravo Award in 2014. In 2016, Pogba was named to the 2015 UEFA Team of the Year, as well as the 2015 FIFA FIFPro World XI, after helping Juventus to the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, their first in 12 years.
Pogba’s performances at Juventus allowed him to return to Manchester United in 2016 for a then-world record transfer fee of €105 million (£89.3 million).[5] The fee paid for him remains the highest paid by an English club.[6] In his first season back, he won the League Cup and the Europa League.[7]
Internationally, he captained France to victory at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup and took home the award for the Best Player for his performances during the tournament. He made his debut for the senior team a year later, and featured prominently at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he was awarded the Best Young Player Award for his performances. He later represented his nation at UEFA Euro 2016 on home soil, where he finished as a runner-up, before winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup after scoring in the final.