Topics: Paul Pogba, Graeme Souness, Manchester United, Juventus, Premier League
Graeme Souness has once again criticised Paul Pogba by calling the former Manchester United midfielder a "lazy t***" during a live event in Dublin.
Throughout his time as a TV pundit, the no-nonsense Souness became renowned for regularly slating the Frenchman.
As soon as Pogba walked through the doors at Old Trafford, the former Liverpool captain claimed his £89 million transfer fee was "way too much" before saying he was a "long way off the finished article."
Souness would later call Pogba "a bit of a YouTuber" before labelling him "selfish" following a win against Leicester City.
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"Pogba plays for himself, it’s all about how cool he looks, showing us how clever he is," he told The Times.
"I reckon Pogba’s only in the team to maintain his transfer value until United can sell him, because he doesn’t merit his place for any other reason. Perhaps we’re now seeing the selfish player Fergie didn’t fancy first time round?"
Souness' criticism of the midfielder has subsided of late following Pogba's decision to join Juventus, although he did say on talkSPORT last year that he was "proved right" before labelling his time at United as an "unmitigated failure."
Things have been rather quiet on the Pogba front of late but the former Sky Sports pundit has decided to have another pop during a live event in Dublin.
Speaking on the Second Captains podcast, Souness discussed a wide range of topics, including the fan treatment of Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson’s controversial move to Saudi Arabia.
But it was his comments about "being right" about Paul Pogba that's got people talking.
“He’s an extremely talented young man. He should be one of the best midfield players in the world, but he’s lazy,” Souness said.
“If you remember how he used to take penalties, that was him wanting to be the star of the show for that period of time.”
He added: “If he’s lazy in matches he’ll be lazy in training and how can you get after the rest of them if you don’t get after him.”
In the past, many have called out Souness for being unfair in his criticism of Pogba. In fact, during the show, he asked whether he ever thought that was true.
“Not for a nanosecond," Souness replied. "No, he’s a lazy t***."
Pogba memorably responded to the ongoing criticism from Souness by saying he didn't know who he was.
“I didn’t even know who he was, really,” Pogba told the United podcast. “I heard he was a great player and stuff like that. I know the face but [not] the name.
"Like I said I’m not someone that watches a lot of [punditry], I watch a lot of football but I don’t stay after the game to listen to what they say about why they did this or why they did that. I like to focus on football.”
Souness responded, saying: "I’m happy with that. The oldest saying in football comes to mind: ‘Put your medals on the table.’ I’ve got a big table.”
