Paul Pogba crisis: How the talented midfielder ruined his career

**Paul Pogba crisis: How the talented midfielder ruined his career?**

French midfielder Paul Pogba is on the verge of ending his playing career. Monaco has terminated his contract.

"The results were not what we expected," said Monaco CEO Thiago Scoru, ending Pogba's career on the Cote d'Azur. Paul's contract was terminated early. After a series of injuries and a period without playing practice, it is very questionable whether the 33-year-old will receive an offer from a more established club.

This situation could spell the end of Pogba's career. At one time, he was expected to become a great player and win the Ballon d'Or. True, Pogba became a World Cup champion, won the Italian championship, won the Golden Boy award... But he did not become the great player that was expected.

**Losing Position**

When the young and promising Pogba left Manchester for Turin, it was difficult to understand his exact role on the pitch. In Italian football, you could often see him pick up the ball near his own penalty area and, a few seconds later, shoot from a distance into the opponent's goal. Or, conversely, move more slowly in the center of the field, receive the ball, and make a clear diagonal pass to the wing. This showed Paul's uniqueness - he could play in any position.

Despite his height of 191 cm, Pogba moved more gracefully than most wingers, easily outwitted the opponent in one-on-one situations and was a fast player. In addition, he felt at ease in one-on-ones and was very good at joining the attack in the second half. Already at the 2014 World Cup, he was called a complete midfielder.

But why did Pogba of that Turin era become the best of his career? It's not just about motivation and good health. Paul played in the center of the field with masters of their craft, such as Pirlo, Vidal and Marchisio. This small circle of specialists correctly distributed tasks among themselves, allowing the young talent to create as he wanted. In addition, dynamic laterals worked on the wings, always ready to receive passes. Depending on the game, Conte, and then Allegri, changed tactics, but so much football intelligence and functionality were concentrated around the young Frenchman that he only did what he liked - enjoying football.

That Pogba was remembered for his shots from 30 meters, his long legs that unexpectedly overtook opponents, and his effective passes in the trivela method. But at Juventus, he was not required to be responsible for every phase of the attack. Pirlo took on the playmaking role, Vidal did the dirty work, and Marchisio kept the balance. At the same time, there was one thing: Pogba could do almost everything, but he could not control the game for 90 minutes - he was primarily a "highlights" player. Allegri also openly spoke about this, noting that Paul had to learn to not be distracted from the game for the entire 90 minutes.

This shortcoming became apparent after 2016, when he returned to Manchester United for a then-record fee in the Premier League. Earlier, tactical analysts had warned that Jose Mourinho's usual 4-2-3-1 formation could be uncomfortable for him. While Pogba was at his best as a left-back in a three-man central midfield, he required a completely different discipline in a back three. To put it bluntly, there was no one to cover him.

Mourinho tried everything: Pogba played in the defensive area, moved up to the number ten position, got freedom on the left in a 4-3-3, but each role took away one of his key strengths. He lacked concentration in the defensive area, lost space for dribbling and long passes when approaching the attack, and lacked balance in the central midfield three - he tended to be too attacking. Added to all this were the fundamental problems of Manchester United at that time. At Old Trafford, they expected Pogba to come and solve everyone's problems with his talent, but in practice this did not happen.

**Loss of motivation**

On October 9, 2016, the day before a World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands, Didier Deschamps' assistant Guy Stephane took Paul aside and explained frankly: the staff were tired of the fact that he sometimes behaved as if he were playing street football in the national team. Excessive feints, stopping the ball underfoot, trying to trick the pass where it could have been a simple pass, adding too much effort to a simple episode just because he could do it technically... Pogba was asked to clean up his game and use his excellent long-range shots more often. The next evening, he scored the only and winning goal against the Netherlands, scoring from almost 30 meters.

But a one-time conversation was not enough: in subsequent training sessions, Paul fell back into his old habits. Deschamps and Stephane had to convince him of a simple truth: not every episode needs to be a demonstration of his superpower.

That was another problem with Pogba, and it was more due to him than Mourinho, his teammates or the structure of "Manchester United". Paul realized very early that he could create miracles with the ball, and this sometimes prevented him from making the most rational decisions on the field. Paul was overconfident in his qualities, and that is why his losses of the ball were especially annoying - if the viewer had just seen Pogba leave two opponents behind with one move, then a minute later he would witness him losing the ball in the most ordinary situation near his own penalty area. Pogba played a mentally unstable game on the field.

This caused a lot of criticism. Sometimes the criticism strayed from the objective, focusing on his hairstyle, dancing and social media chatter, but the criticism of his arrogance and lack of effort on the pitch was not without reason. Solskjaer, who replaced Mourinho, repeatedly said that Paul was at his best when he was performing effectively. The coach did not ask him to give up his individuality and did not forbid him from taking risks, but he clearly set the boundaries - you have to prove yourself within the structure of the team.

Paul came to the national team after a difficult season, during which his relationship with Mourinho began to deteriorate before the 2018 World Cup. Shortly before the tournament, he played unconvincingly against Italy, but Deschamps still trusted him. In March, in a friendly against Russia, we saw the Pogba the coaching staff had been waiting for: playing as a right-back in a 4-3-3 formation, he touched the ball 72 times and made 56 passes (his best figures on the pitch). He was less prone to dribbling and ended the game with a goal and an assist. A month later, we saw the Pogba who could have been great. Paul was really good, including as a mental leader, but again, he was exposed by the environment: Kante was cleaning up everything he could, the versatile Matuidi was working alongside him, and Griezmann was taking on the role of the "ten".

The problem was that it was only a one-off flash, and after that, Pogba's wanderings in the Premier League continued. No one has been able to reprogram Pogba's brain for the long term. From a young age, Paul had been accustomed to the fact that his extraordinary physical and technical abilities allowed him to correct any imperfect decision, so rationality was perceived as a limitation, not a further stage of development. The best midfielders over time begin to do less noticeable things on the pitch, because they understand the situation in time and make decisions faster. Pogba did not seem to fully understand this logic. This is what happens to creative people - if something does not look right, they lose motivation.

**Losing confidence**

Then health problems began. First, Paul missed a large part of the 2019/20 season due to an ankle injury, which eventually required surgery. Then in 2021, a serious hamstring injury sidelined him for almost three months, followed by another injury near the end of his final season at United. By then, Pogba had almost ruined his career and had already given up hope of becoming one of the best in the world. He could have had flashes of brilliance, as he did at Euro 2020, but everyone knew that these were just short-lived flashes.

A return to Juventus in the summer of 2022 was his last chance to restart his career in familiar surroundings, but it all ended in tragedy. Pogba was injured on the first pre-season tour: at first he tried to treat it without surgery to save his chance to play at the World Cup, then he went on the operating table anyway and ultimately missed the tournament. Then he injured his hamstring and went on a long period without football again. In May 2023, Allegri introduced Paul to the starting line-up for the first time in Serie A for the season, but he was forced off after 23 minutes with a hamstring injury. The injury was a recurring one.

Chronic injuries gradually eroded Pogba's confidence. After his second return to Juventus, he played just 160 minutes in Serie A. A doping ban was the final straw. A positive test for steroids after a match against Udinese in August 2023 initially led to a four-year ban, which was later reduced to 18 months by the CAS, which ruled that the substance had been taken unintentionally through a nutritional supplement. But by then, Pogba had barely played for over a year.

There's no point in discussing the Monaco era - it's fair to say that it wasn't a real one due to injuries. After all, Pogba was truly one of the best in the world for several years, but he wasn't ready to prove it every day, and by the age of 30 his body was giving him up. Yes, it may seem like a stretch to say that simple overconfidence prevented Pogba from achieving greatness. But that's true - just as Paul had reasons for this confidence. It's a pity that the bright period in the career of Paul Pogba, one of the most complete midfielders of the 21st century, lasted so short.