Rijo Sam Daniel
Paul Pogba warned he should “never play” for Manchester United if an extension is not agreed amidst contract uncertainty
Paul Pogba will see his contract with Manchester United expire at the end of the 2021-22 season and former Celtic and Scotland striker, Frank McAvennie, has warned him that he should never play for them again if an extension is not agreed. He is currently on the sidelines due to a thigh injury that he picked up during the international break.
Pogba can legally reach a pre-contract agreement with other clubs in the January transfer window since he will become a free agent next summer. That has seen uncertainty surround his future at Old Trafford with several clubs interested in his services. It seems like he is set to leave the club at the end of the current campaign.
Speaking in an interview with Football Insider (h/t Manchester Evening News), McAvennie told the Frenchman that he should not play for the Manchester club again if he wants to leave. He added how the midfielder does not deserve the current deal as he is not a leader.
“Based on how much money they paid, Pogba should be a true leader on and off the pitch there. He’s not even close to that. If he won’t commit to the club then fine, don’t play him. I’m sure Man United will be absolutely fine without him. If he won’t sign, he should never play for them again.”
Harsh but with substance
Things have not fared well for the France international or us over the past few years, but we have started a new life under Ralf Rangnick. If he cannot turn a new page, then we have no obligation to play him if he does end up leaving in the future.
We are trying to reach the glory days, which requires absolute commitment from all the players within the team. If someone does not have the necessary drive to be successful at the club, then he should not be the person we build our team around. One can question how we could sideline a player of his quality even if he wants to leave.
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His quality cannot be questioned as he has been consistently good for his national team. But we have to turn a new page and it would not be the most audacious call to hand Pogba’s minutes to a more deserving player who wants to be a part of our future.
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Perhaps, the 63-year-old coach could help the France superstar get back to his best at the club level. There have already been others who have been solid in the past month or so but were poor under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. A similar thing could happen with Pogba as well, but he should have the right mindset to succeed here.
This is why Rangnick is at the helm, to make tough calls such as this. It’s up to him what he wants to do with the former Juventus man, but if he fields him regularly, he must make sure that Pogba meets the desired level of performance to be guaranteed a place in the team rather than just being played regularly because of his name and status.
