Former Sky Sports panellist Graeme Souness has explained why Paul Pogba caused him so much frustration during his time in the Premier League with Manchester United, and has also given reasoning for his constant criticism when on punditry duty in the UK.
Pogba was officially handed a four-year ban by the anti-doping tribunal in Italy on Thursday morning, having failed a routine doping test after Juventus’ opening game of the 2023-24 Serie A season on August 20, a 3-0 victory over Udinese.
Pogba was an unused substitute on that occasion.
Speaking to Talksport on his eponymous talk show alongside Simon Jordan, Souness explained that Pogba had the ability to be among the best players in the world, but the Scot believes that Pogba’s emotions often got the better of him.
“He had the equipment to be the best midfielder in the world,” the three-time European Cup winner said on the Simon & Souness Show back in January.
“I saw a young man that was going through emotions a lot of the time, and that frustrated me.
“With that physique and that technical ability, he just did not have the right attitude to make him a superstar.”
Souness was among Pogba’s most relentless critics during his second spell with Manchester United between 2016 and 2022.
The Frenchman joined United from Juventus for a then-world record fee of €105m in the summer of 2016. He netted 39 goals from 226 appearances in all competitions while at Old Trafford, before returning to the Allianz Stadium on a free transfer last summer.
During his second stint in Manchester, Pogba and his teammates lifted two trophies, the Europa League and the League Cup, both of which came in the 2016-17 season under Jose Mourinho.
Pogba also has a World Cup winners medal in his collection, but Souness believes that that title was often used as an excuse.
“The worst thing that happened to him was winning a World Cup, because he could turn and say, ‘I am a World Cup winner’.I think at that point, that was him going backwards,” Souness concluded.
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