A man who played alongside the Frenchman for three years at Old Trafford thinks he has been unfairly targeted by the media since returning to England
Paul Pogba has received “a lot of unjustified criticism” during his second spell at Manchester United, according to Matteo Darmian, who insists his old team-mate has always been fully committed to the club’s cause.
Since returning to United from Juventus for a record fee of £89 million ($111m) in the summer of 2016, Pogba has more often than not found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Despite the fact that the Frenchman has contributed 31 goals in 143 outings for the Red Devils, he has often been accused of failing to deliver the goods on a consistent basis.
Pogba was originally tipped to help United start challenging for the title and Champions League success again, but has only picked up Europa League and FA Cup winners’ medals since retracing his steps four years ago.
He has also been continually linked with a move away from Manchester, amid reported interest from Real Madrid, and even admitted to being open to undertaking a new challenge back in July.
Darmian witnessed Pogba’s unique abilities up close at the Theatre of Dreams, and never saw any sign of the World Cup winner shirking his responsibilities or pushing for a transfer despite constantly being subjected to negative press.
“Paul is my friend and I have an excellent relationship with him,” the ex-United defender told The Guardian. “First of all: we are talking about a real champion here, a great footballer, but even they can have some periods when they don’t do as well [as they would like].
“The real “problem” with Pogba at United, I think, was the price the club paid for him and that conditioned the way people perceived him.
“There has been a lot of unjustified criticism towards Pogba, for example, that he doesn’t work hard enough, but he always gave his best, I can assure you, in every training session.
“In my opinion, his performances were good in recent years, they talk about him too negatively [in the UK].
“Did I see Pogba unhappy or willing to leave? No, I honestly didn’t see him sad or unhappy, quite the opposite, for all the time I was in Manchester, Paul was absolutely happy with his decision to go back there. He really cares about doing well at Manchester United.”
Darmian’s four-year spell on the Red Devils’ books came to an end last summer, as he completed a move to Parma after falling down the squad pecking order under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Now that he is playing regular football again, the 30-year-old is determined to earn a place in Italy‘s squad for the European Championships, which has been pushed back to 2021 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“I was lucky I could join Parma,” said Darmian. “Their sporting director Daniele Faggiano called me and enable me to return to Serie A, a league I knew well. I joined a good group of people and that always helps with everything.
“At the moment we are still focused on avoiding relegation, that is the main objective, but it’s an ambitious club and that’s what convinced me to pick Parma so who knows what we can achieve.
“As for the national team, playing in the Euro in 2021 for Italy is something I want to do at all cost.”
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