Manchester United legend Paul Scholes believes Paul Pogba should have been handed the captain’s armband when he rejoined the club in 2016.
Jose Mourinho dropped Pogba from his starting XI in the second half of last season and the 25-year-old Frenchman was heavily linked with a move to Barcelona this summer. The situation escalated when Pogba and Mourinho had a bust-up at United’s Carrington training base earlier this week and the Portuguese is understood to have urged the midfielder to hand in a transfer request if he wishes to leave.
Despite growing tension between the pair, Pogba was made captain for United’s Premier League opener with Leicester and managed 84 minutes at Old Trafford after only four days of training.
‘There’s obviously some kind of breakdown in their relationship from what we read. Do we know that for definite? I don’t know,’ Scholes said on BBC 5 Live Sport when discussing the rumours surrounding Pogba and Mourinho. ‘What we do know is that Paul needs to perform more often than he is doing.
‘We all know the talent he’s got – great strength, great ability, an athlete. But he’s only doing it one if every three or four games. ‘If you’re going to challenge for a title I just don’t think that can happen.’
Scholes believes Mourinho missed a trick by not making Pogba his captain ‘the minute’ he signed for United two summers ago. Asked about his performance as skipper on Friday night, Scholes replied: ‘Captain’s armband? I thought that the minute we signed him he should have been made captain. Give him some responsibility as a young player,
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).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.