- Souness spoke in Dublin and was asked about the Juventus midfielder
- He has criticized Pogba in the past, but the player claimed to have never heard of him
- Listen to the latest episode of the Mail Sport podcast It all starts!
Graeme Souness has branded Paul Pogba ‘a lazy t**t’ as he spoke about the Juventus midfielder on a podcast in Ireland.
Souness is known for not being afraid to criticize players when he believes they deserve it. He has spoken out against the banned midfielder after initially questioning the size of his £89million price tag when he joined Manchester United in 2016.
Pogba has been provisionally suspended from football after testing positive for testosterone during a recent doping test, believed to be after his club’s Serie A match against Udinese on August 20, a match in which he did not play.
Souness appeared at a live event of the Second Captains podcast in Dublin, where he criticized Pogba and praised him before questioning his attitude.
The pundit criticized Pogba’s work ethic in both training and matches, before doubling down on his criticism when asked about it on the podcast.
Graeme Souness (pictured) branded Paul Pogba ‘a lazy thing’ when discussing the midfielder on a recent podcast
Pogba has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for testosterone in a recent doping test
“He is an extremely talented young man,” Souness said. ‘He should be one of the best midfielders in the world. But he’s lazy.
‘If you remember how he took penalties. That was him wanting to be the star of the show during that period.
“If he’s lazy in games, he’ll be lazy in training, and how can you get after the rest if you don’t get after him?”
When asked whether he finds his sometimes unjustified criticism of the thirty-year-old unfair, he answers: ‘Not for a nanosecond, no, he is a lazy thing.’
The Scot’s criticism of Pogba appeared to start when he joined United seven years ago, when he suggested ‘the price isn’t right’ as Pogba returns to the club after four years playing for Juventus.
During Pogba’s season in England, Souness wondered whether he had ‘a football brain’ before questioning his commitment to football when he left United for a second time last year.
Pogba himself was asked about Souness and his perceived criticism, insisting he was unsure who he was.
“I didn’t even know who he was, I heard he was a great player and stuff like that,” said the former World Cup winner.
‘I know the face, but (not) the name. Like I said, I’m not someone who looks at (expertise) much. I watch a lot of football, but I don’t stay after the game to listen to what they say about why they did this or why they did that. I like to concentrate on football.’
Souness left Sky at the end of last season after fifteen years with the broadcaster as a pundit, but still works as a pundit for other broadcasters and is a columnist for Mail Sport.
