Premier League legend Rio Ferdinand is baffled at how Paul Pogba is still being blamed for Manchester United’s issues despite missing most of the season through injury and urged ex-professionals not to “beat him with a stick” just because he is different than the rest of the players..
For much of Pogba’s second spell at Old Trafford, the World Cup winner has polarised opinions among supporters as well as pundits, with few doubting his ability, but most suggesting he should be decisive and perform at a more consistent basis.
Pogba cost the Red Devils a reported £89million when he returned from Serie A club Juventus in 2016, but a number of former players claim he has not shown enough to be considered a good buy, with pundits Roy Keane and Graeme Souness two notably prominent criticizers of the French star.
The 27-year-old Pogba hit back at Souness earlier this month, claiming he did not even know who the Liverpool legend was, prompting the Scotsman to swipe back with a jibe that urged Pogba to “put his medals on the table”.
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was also a former team-mate of Pogba’s at United in his early days at the club and the former England defender, finds it astonishing the midfielder has still attracted a lot of flak this term in spite of making just seven Premier League appearances in total.
While speaking on his YouTube channel the 41-year-old said that most of the Pogba criticism stems from his use of social media, “A lot of it is from social media – a lot of what they say stems from his social media presence and a lot of those guys are old school, [Ex-pros] want people to follow suit of those before them, they want people to be serious about the game, not broadcasting stuff on social media. He’s injured, going to a wedding and dancing, in the changing room and dancing – this is Pogba, that’s his life, the way he is.”
