Paul Pogba return sparks another brutal Souness outburst on ‘lazy’ and ‘wasted talent’

Former Premier League manager Graeme Souness believes ‘lazy’ Paul Pogba will be remembered as a ‘wasted talent’ after the Frenchman’s name was back in the news again.

Juventus are expected to mutually terminate the contract of Pogba who is reportedly in ‘advanced’ talks over forging a surprise link-up with a former Manchester United prodigy in January, according to reports.

Pogba, 31, failed a doping test in 2023 and was subsequently handed a four-year suspension that looked like it would effectively end his playing career. However, the ban has since been reduced to 18 months on appeal, meaning Pogba is free to resume training in January and make his first appearance back in March.

And, according to French reporter Malick Traore of NCI, Pogba is already in “advanced discussions” over joining former United teammate Mason Greenwood at Marseille.

But speaking on William Hill’s Three Up Front podcast, Souness, who has been hugely critical of Pogba in the past, said: “If I was a Premier League manager, there are no circumstances under which I would take a punt on bringing in Paul Pogba. He’s only played 39 games since the 2021/22 season.

“He is extremely talented, but he’s a wasted talent. The worst thing that happened to him was winning the World Cup because from that point on he just sat in his armchair. When José Mourinho was at Manchester United, he called Pogba a virus. He’s a lazy player, but midfield is a position that you have to take personally.

“It’s the only position on the pitch where you’re directly up against someone who’s trying to do the same job as you. I always wanted to have a better day than whoever I was up against, and the only thing I was taught to do was work harder than my opponent.

“Pogba just goes out to play and show off to everyone how cute and clever he is, rather than trying to make his opponent have a miserable day. He’s got all the ability and athleticism you need; he’s just missing something upstairs.”

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Pogba ego questioned over next move

Souness was joined by Troy Deeney on the podcast, with the former Watford striker having played against Pogba on multiple occasions in the past, and he feels that football just comes too easily for Pogba.

Deeny added: “I still think Paul Pogba is talented enough. But is he still attractive from a business perspective?

“I played against him four or five times and it was like football was too easy for him. He didn’t have to try.

“That really infuriated me, and it infuriates me in people in general, but he’s so talented. He’s 6ft 4in, he can move, he can do everything.

“I hope he can get back to playing. I’d question his ego as to where he ends up playing, because I’m not sure his ego will allow him to drop to a lower Premier League team, like Leicester for example.”

IN FOCUS – Souness’ Pogba claims stack up 

After Souness’ claims that Pogba’s career has seemingly nosedived since winning the World Cup in 2018, we checked on his stats and the Liverpool legend is bang on.

Those numbers speak a thousand words and it’s alarming just how few games he has played over the last six years, not to mention how all those statistics have dropped in a major way.

It will certainly be interesting to see how Pogba now rebuilds his career and what sort of hunger he still has for the game. But if that graphic is anything to go by, any club making that move will be potentially taking a huge gamble.

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