Paul Pogba is set to leave Manchester United after six years at the club for free as his contract expires on the 30th of June, a financial punch in the gut for United who spent just over £89 million for his signature from Juventus in 2016.
After six seasons of inconsistent and a vast majority of underwhelming performances, Pogba has suggested a lack of leadership in the United dressing room being a reason for his lacklustre appearances.
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In a recent interview with Uninterrupted, the 29 year old Frenchman spoke about the importance of being a leader where he said:
“Being a leader; it's about helping your teammates to [reach] the biggest potential.
“He can fight, but it’s going to be for the good of the player, the good of the team, and he brings the level up - he just brings this energy, this positive energy. He talks, is listened [to], people trust him, he trusts his people.”
Pogba has shown glimpses of his definition of leadership throughout his career but mainly whilst in the Blue of his national team. Playing a massive role in France’s triumph in winning the World Cup in 2018, Paul Pogba played like a man possessed and certainly provided the “positive energy”, he was one of the standout performers for the team that was filled with superstars.
Pogba repeats the importance of positivity being the key to a healthy team dynamic and good leadership by saying:
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“I like to talk to the people and you can be the leader, but even the leaders sometimes needs his teammate to be encouraging and they need to bring him up.
“As a team we all need someone to push, to bring you up, you know when you need sometimes you’re just down, [for example] you have one minute and you miss a chance in front of the goal and you’re down and someone comes, tap your shoulder and says ‘it’s all right, you’re going to score another goal’ - you know, it just brings the energy up - ‘heads up, it’s okay’ and you go again.”
These words speak very loudly considering the constant news that leaks out of the Old Trafford dressing room describing it as a toxic and negative environment, the complete opposite to how Paul Pogba believes how leadership is created.
Fortunately, for the future of Manchester United, this poisonous behaviour looks set to end under Erik ten Hag and his assistant Mitchell van der Gaag as they like to individually talk to the players to stop these fractures from happening.
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Sadly for Pogba however, his dramatic break up from the club, which started with a very public dispute with Jose Mourinho, was unable to heal for United's number six to see the bright future that the club is heading towards.
The Manchester United chapter is over for Paul Pogba in his career after two stints and both the player and the fans will probably look back on his time with mixed emotions and see it as a missed opportunity.
Topics: Paul Pogba, Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Jose Mourinho
