According to The National Manchester United are set to lose the gem of their academy – Paul Pogba, to Juventus this summer. Widely regarded as a prodigy and one of United’s big hopes for the future, his decision to leave would surely be met with a mixture of confusion and sadness by fans.
Whilst this seems to be rumour and speculation at the moment, with little in the way of genuine evidence (at least at the time of writing) there may be some truth to it. Pogba has stalled over signing a new contract and we know what his agent is like.
Why on earth wasn’t Pogba interested in remaining with one of Europe’s top clubs, with arguably the greatest Manager of all time, playing some of the world’s best football? I can’t imagine many other places offer a better footballing education than Man United, especially if you’re a major talent who needs guidance. So what was it that finally turned the French U19 star’s head?
As it usually is in these situations, money seems to be to blame. That and an overzealous agent who is guilty of an atrocious act of short-termism. According to reports, Pogba has secured a deal where he would earn €1m a season, whilst the agent himself will pick up €2m in commission.
Goodness me, with that kind of money thrown around when it comes to agents with young talent on their roster, it’s hardly a surprise that they’re forever encouraging their young charges to pack up and leave. Surely this is another example of a player’s agent having too much say regarding their future? This is backed up by reports suggesting that his agent, Mino Raiola was offering Pogba around to Europe’s elite as early as last summer.
Is Pogba leaving because he’ll get more game time, or because he’ll get higher wages? You’d think that the latter was more likely and if it is indeed the case, you’d wonder why there aren’t people crowding around the Frenchman attempting to set him on the right path.
As for Manchester United, Pogba leaving may well be seen as another serious indictment of their youth system. With Ravel Morrison joining West Ham in the summer it became even more important that they kept hold of the remaining young talent at the club. How can United build for the future if they’re constantly being undermined by the players they’re supposed to be rearing?
It’s true that no one player is bigger than the club, but when individuals keep leaving it eventually suggests that there is a deeper underlying problem. So do United have cause for worry?
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How does this mean the clubs youth system is failing? They’re producing good players…