Paul Pogba has revealed that he wanted to leave Manchester United in 2019 because his heart was not in it, but he was prevented from leaving.
The Frenchman finally left Old Trafford on a free in the summer of 2022, six years after returning for a world record fee of £89million.
Pogba believes the 2018-19 season, when he was United’s top scorer, was his best at the club, but wanted to leave despite the positivity surrounding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s new regime following the departure of Jose Mourinho in December 2018. .
The midfielder, 31, has bared his soul in an exclusive interview with Mail Sport’s Sami Mokbel, his first with a UK newspaper since his football ban was reduced.
“I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone,” Pogba jokes.
Paul Pogba has revealed that he did want to leave Manchester United in the summer of 2019
He told Mail Sport his ‘head’ was already out the door but he remained ‘professional’
Former chief executive Ed Woodward stopped him from leaving the club, claims Pogba
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been ready to let him go, but he only left three years later.
“The year José left and Ole arrived was my best season at United, but after the last game I told Ole and Ed Woodward that I thought it was my last year and I wanted to leave.
“I was 27 years old at the time and things didn’t go the way I wanted. I gave my best but I didn’t see the club going up.
‘Manchester City and Liverpool were better than us and they were improving. Ole said yes (to me leaving) and that he would talk to Ed.
“I already had it in my head that I wanted to leave, but I came back for the preseason because I wanted to be a professional.
“I talked to Ed to try to make a move but he blocked it. I didn’t want to play for United anymore but I had to be professional.
“Mentally I wasn’t there and then I got the injuries.”
Pogba’s surprising admission gives insight into his mentality with the team, where the best years of his career were not as he would have wanted at club level.
In 2019 he did not hide his desire to sign for Real Madrid: until the deadline day he was a “favorite” of tweets related to Real Madrid on social networks. He had also described it as a “dream” to play for the Spanish giants in March of that year.
Pogba’s Mail Sport interview is his first with a UK outlet after his football ban was reduced
Pogba is about to leave Juventus and will be able to play freely again from March 2025
He then rejoined Juventus but only managed 12 appearances due to injury problems before a failed drug test in August 2023.
In February, Pogba, then 30, received a four-year ban from football after failing a drug test in August 2023, potentially ending his career.
He tested positive for testosterone after Juventus’ first game of the 2023-24 season against Udinese, and was handed a harsh punishment by an Italian anti-doping prosecutor.
However, as Mail Sport exclusively revealed earlier this month, the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced his suspension to 18 months following an appeal, meaning he will be able to play again in March 2025, and will be allowed to train starting in January.
