France coach Didier Deschamps has weighed in with his opinion about Manchester United’s handling of Paul Pogba, telling reporters that the 25-year-old “cannot be happy” about his pariah status.
In recent weeks, Pogba has been in the news not for what he’s done on the pitch but rather for the fact that he’s rarely seen on it. Absent from United’s victory against Liverpool earlier this month, Pogba was selected only as a substitute for the Champions League last-16 encounter with Sevilla, and didn’t appear in last weekend’s FA Cup win over Brighton.
Not only has Jose Mourinho apparently lost faith in the French midfielder but he’s also publicly endorsed his replacement in the starting line-up. The United boss told BBC Sport that 21-year-old Scott McTominay has “class and maturity”, which has been interpreted in some quarters as a sly dig at Pogba.
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Despite Pogba’s lack of game time this year, Deschamps has named him in his squad for the upcoming friendlies against Colombia and Russia, as France build towards June’s World Cup.
Asked by French sports daily L’Equipe for his opinion on Pogba’s seemingly lowly status at Old Trafford, Deschamps replied: “This is a situation that he must not appreciate because of everything he would have been able to offer. There must be numerous reasons. He cannot be happy with what he is going through with his club.”
Explaining that he does not “have all the information” behind Pogba’s demotion, Deschamps added: “It’s not specific to Paul. It can happen elsewhere that a player is a bit down or is going through a particular situation with his club. That could be Paul now, or others at other times, and I will do as I always do and talk to that player to understand better.”
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