Topics: Patrice Evra, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Paul Pogba, Football
Patrice Evra has made a bold claim that Manchester United brought one player back to humiliate Sir Alex Ferguson.
During his time at Old Trafford, Ferguson won 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies among other accolades.
The Scotsman is also often regarded as one of the best managers in the history of football.
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Speaking on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Evra claimed that United made the decision to bring back Paul Pogba to humiliate Ferguson.
The French midfielder came through the ranks at Old Trafford after joining as a 16-year-old.
However, a year before Ferguson retired, Pogba left United and signed for Italian Serie A giants Juventus.
After making a name for himself in Italy, United forked out £89 million to bring Pogba back to Manchester in 2016.
Speaking about Pogba’s return, Evra said: “Manchester United brought Paul Pogba back because they wanted to humiliate Sir Alex Ferguson. I told Paul to not go back because he wanted Real Madrid and Madrid wanted him, but Florentino Pérez didn’t want to pay the money.
“His agent called United, and he signed with him without telling me. The club was happy because they were selling shirts, you know the kids love Pogba – it was more commercial than anything on the pitch.”
He continued: “It’s not about being a big fan of Paul Pogba, it’s about being his big brother. It’s about protecting him. I was harsh with him when I joined Juventus.
“One day, he said to the press, ‘I deserve to win the Ballon d’Or' I was like, ‘Wait a minute, did you ever hear [Frank] Lampard saying that, did you ever hear [Andrés] Iniesta, Xavi or whatever?’ And, I’m like, ‘Calm down, you’re not ready for that’.
“With Paul, you see him like that, but inside, he’s not that strong and he’s protecting himself, and that’s why I tried to protect Paul, because sometimes it [the criticism of him] was unfair. People were talking more about his hairstyle or his dancing than judging him on the pitch. Even sometimes he wasn’t playing, they were saying, ‘United lost because of Paul Pogba’. I feel like sometimes the press are not being fair with Paul Pogba.”
Sources close to Pogba insist he never expected or stated he deserved to win the Ballon d’Or.
