Passed by Juventus between 2012 and 2016 before committing to Manchester United, the club of his debut, Paul Pogba is again Turinese. Free of any contract, the Frenchman officially signed up with Juve on Monday, July 11.
The Manchester-Turin link is restored for Paul Pogba. Almost eleven years after his professional debut, the French international again goes from the red of the Mancunian club to the black and white of the Turin institution. For the third time, he trades one of these two tunics for the other.
The first movement dates back to the summer of 2012: then a promising young 19-year-old player, the midfielder said “good bye” to Manchester United after only a handful of matches with the A team. Free of any contract, he left MU and therefore joined Italy and Juventus, where he will burst into the open.
Four years later, in the summer of 2016, the English club brought back a player who has become one of the most talented in the world. Best youngster at the 2014 World Cup with the Blues, 2015 Champions League finalist with Juve and recent Euro finalist, Paul Pogba returns to Manchester United as part of a record transfer at the time : the Turin club recovers more than 105 million euros in the transaction.
The circle is now complete: Monday July 11, the 2018 world champion leaves the Red Devils for the Bianconeri for a second time. Again free of any contract after six years in England, he is back in Italy.
Back in a limping Juve
The Mancunian adventure is over, probably definitively, for Paul Pogba. His second stint there leaves a bitter taste because the “Pioche” failed to bring Manchester United back to the top. The player has never really convinced United. In the space of six seasons, he has only won a League Cup and a Europa League there in 2017. Injuries did not spare him during this second era in Manchester.
The former resident of the Le Havre training center is reconnecting with a club he knows well, and especially with a coach who trusted him. At Juventus, after Antonio Conte between 2012 and 2014, Paul Pogba worked with Massimiliano Allegri. The latter, again in charge of the Old Lady, is counting on the midfielder as well as on the Argentinian Angel Di Maria, also free after the end of his lease at PSG, to give a boost to his team.
Pogba, 29, is eagerly awaited at a club that has lost its luster. If his first era in Turin had been crowned with success – four Scudetti, two Italian Cups, a Champions League final – Juve has been stalling for some time. The Piedmont flagship finished in fourth place in Serie A in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, while remaining on nine consecutive coronations. The Bianconeri have not passed the knockout stages in the Champions League since 2019, and they have even just experienced their first season without any title, a first since 2011.