Paul Pogba began his career at a club in the Paris suburbs but rather than playing for PSG he will line-up for Manchester United.
Even as a young boy Paul Pogba was a perfectionist when it came to his football. At his first club on the outskirts of Paris Pogba would be furious with himself when he misplaced a pass or made a mistake.
It was that demanding streak that made him a ‘leader’ at US Roissy-en-Brie, according to club president Sambou Tati, who coached Pogba when he was at the Stade Paul Bessuard. Pogba may have lost his role as one United’s potential captains under Jose Mourinho, but from the age of six to 13 at the small football club locked between the local horse riding school and the cemetery he was the ‘chief’ of the dressing room.
This club is proud of the role they played in developing one of the most famous names in football. Some of Pogba’s shirts adorn the walls of the offices and he has continued to visit – when time allows – since his departure.
It was on these fields that the goalscoring form he has shown under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was first honed. Under the Norwegian Pogba has been unleashed in a more advanced midfield role, scoring eight goals in his last eight Premier League appearances, but while it might be a relatively new role at Old Trafford, it’s one those at his first club have seen him dominate games in before.
“He played near the striker, in the position he is playing now in Manchester,” Tati said of Pogba’s seven years at US Roissy.
“He was a very good player for us, he liked to dribble and he had a good mentality. He was the chief of the team, he was a leader in the team.
While they were casting an eye over the whole of France, PSG were missing talent on their own doorstep. It was a mistake they made with Kylian Mbappe as well, one that cost them €145 million to put right in the summer of 2017.
“When he was young they weren’t interested in him, Monaco and Le Havre were interested in Paul when he was young,” remembers Tati.