As rumors circulate about Paul Pogba's (32) potential return to Manchester United (ManU), French football legend Emmanuel Petit (55) has stepped in to advise against it.
According to the U.K.'s The Sun on the 1st (Korea time), Petit, a World Cup winner in 1998 who also played for Arsenal and Chelsea, advised Pogba, his junior in the French national team, in an interview with the online betting site 'PokerFirma' that 'I oppose his return to ManU.'
Petit continued, 'Pogba needs a good environment. However, he has already played for ManU twice and has faced constant criticism from the media, former players, and fans,' asserting, 'Currently, ManU is not the best club for him to go to.'
Pogba, a ManU youth product, made his first-team debut at the age of 18 in 2012 under manager Alex Ferguson. However, he transferred to Juventus to secure playing time and built his reputation as a world-class midfielder.
Pogba returned to ManU in 2016 for a then-world-record transfer fee of £89 million (approximately 169.3 billion won) and returned to Juventus in 2022. However, a doping controversy arose in September 2023.
Pogba tested positive for testosterone, a male hormone, after a doping test conducted immediately after the 2023-2024 Serie A opening match against Udinese. Ultimately, Pogba received a four-year ban from competition last February.
However, Pogba's ban was reduced from four years to 18 months after it was acknowledged that he did not intentionally take testosterone. As a result, Pogba will be able to train with the team from January and participate in matches from March.
Petit expressed concerns about Pogba's potential third return to ManU, saying, 'He last played 16 months ago. He has been training alone and has had no opportunities to train or play with his teammates,' adding, 'But I still believe he possesses outstanding mental strength and ability.'
He added, 'The question is how long it will take to regain good form. Motivation from a sense of revenge may be a factor, but it's uncertain how much it will influence him.'
'However, Pogba still has a desire to return to football and prove that he is not a finished player,' he continued, emphasizing, 'If I were the coach of a big club, I would take a gamble on him at least once.'
[OSEN]