Manchester United star Paul Pogba has been called a “lazy” midfielder and he “will cheat a little bit” when it comes to his defensive contributions.
That is according to 1998 World Cup winner Marcel Desailly, who pulled no punches towards his fellow Frenchman over his lack of ‘discipline.’
Pogba, who is out of contract at the end of the season, failed to make the starting XI for United’s crucial second-leg Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid.
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The France midfielder came off the bench in the second half, replacing Bruno Fernandes in the 67th minute, and was unable to turn the tie in United’s favour.
The 29-year-old United star watched on as the Red Devils crashed out of the Champions League, with Renan Lodi scoring the winner in the first half at Old Trafford.
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Speaking ahead of United’s 1-0 defeat, Desailly claimed that Pogba would take “advantage” of the opportunity to play as a playmaker at United.
“Quality-wise, you cannot compare Pogba to Fred or [Scott] McTominay or [Nemanja] Matic,” he said on beIN SPORTS.
“But he’s lazy. He’s lazy. You allowed him to be some kind of playmaker, you know, behind [Cristiano] Ronaldo [and] he will take advantage of it.
“When he goes well, then he’s fantastic. When he doesn’t go well, offensively he has not brought to what everyone was expecting, and at the same time he will cheat a little bit, he will not drop back and help with the midfield on the defensive intensity.”
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Pogba is free to speak with clubs outside of England and sign a pre-contract agreement ahead of his United deal expiring in the summer.
The 2018 World Cup winner has attracted interest from Real Madrid, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, despite United pushing for Pogba to ink a new contract.
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Desailly insisted that Pogba is not a “disciplined” player and pointed to how France manager Didier Deschamps integrated the United star into the national team.
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“You see France become world champions without Pogba in that area,” he added.
“He [Deschamps] put him on the 4-2-3-1, he put him [Pogba] close to [N’Golo] Kante and he really disciplined him. Pogba is not disciplined.”
Topics: Paul Pogba, Manchester United, Premier League, England, Football
Adnan Riaz