I feel sorry for Paul Pogba and it’s no wonder he struggled at Man Utd with jealous hangers-on clawing at his millions
IT IS an unfortunate commentary on Paul Pogba that he will be missed from English football this season nearly as much for the colour of his hair as his talents on the field.
You never quite knew what he would burnish on the top of his head. It could be pillar-box red touched off with white, or ultramarine with a band of dirty cream.
Then again, Old Trafford has been blessed with the sight of rich orange, stars, a lipstick kiss, a leopard-skin pattern and blue-and-white tassels.
He spends more money on his hair than any woman I know! He can afford it.
He earned — maybe paid is a better word — £15million a year with Manchester United and is said to have a £100m fortune.
Which rather suggests there will be plenty more hairstyles in Turin now he has moved on a “free” to Juventus.
READ MORE ON MAN UTD
It is said he is more than generous to friends and the family ruled by his mother in Lagny-sur-Marne, near Paris.
But unlike his team-mate at United, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pogba has long been surrounded by hangers-on.
Ronaldo’s fortune is said to be five times that of Pogba’s and he still continues earning at the rate of £90m a year.
A good family, no doubt, has something to do with that.
latest man utd news
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
It is accepted now that Pogba’s agent, the late Mino Raiola, made £54m from Pogba’s £89m move to United six years ago, a shocking abuse of the system that has finally been ended.
Among Raiola’s players who paid tribute to him, Pogba wrote: “Always in my heart, thank you, Mimi.” Cynics in Manchester might prefer: “Always in my wallet.”
There is no doubt, though, that the French midfielder needed a man like Raiola on his side.
Is it a coincidence that this spring Pogba’s brother and alleged friends have set about the footballer with a financial frenzy that shouts of greed and entitlement?
My sympathies are with Paul all the way.
Here is a man, a World Cup winner and on his day one of the most destructive/constructive players there is, being pressurised by elder brother Mathias for big sums of money he, as a fellow footballer, was never remotely good enough to earn.
Mathias’ poisonous envy pours out in his every utterance after Pogba spoke of an extortion bid by two hooded gunmen who held him hostage, claiming he owed them £11m ‘protection’ money dating back 13 years.
Clearly nonsense of course. And there’s more of it.
Weird tales of witchcraft and hoodoo men to which you might think this is a reference to Jose Mourinho, whose relationship with Paul Pogba apparently was fraught.
It’s fair to say that neither Mourinho nor any other of United’s managers got the best out of Pogba, possibly because of his unpredictability and fragile temperament.
And maybe because of the demands of his family off the field.
While Mathias only played in League One, no doubt the younger brother’s great success became a sore point.
He made £100m and Mathias and the mates from their days on a poor estate, felt they ought to have a share.
Jealous, not so much of what Pogba had, but what they didn’t have. A sad story, really.
Read More on The Sun
Paul hasn’t exactly wasted his talent but, married and a father of two, he has time to settle down at Juventus to become the truly great player he once promised to be.
Maybe that’s what irks the gang.