Paul Pogba has been “nothing but problems” for Manchester United since returning to the club in 2016, says Paul Ince, will all concerned at Old Trafford now asking questions of where they go from this point.
The Red Devils invested £89 million ($116m) in bringing a France international back onto their books, with their transfer record smashed when doing business with Juventus.
Pogba’s capture was considered to be a quite a coup, with there plenty of potential in his game still to be unlocked.
United have, however, been unable to bring the best out of an enigmatic 27-year-old, with regular questions being asked of his form and future.
Pogba has become a World Cup winner during his second spell in England, but domestic struggles have contributed to the Red Devils being unable to kick on as a collective.
There is now no obvious role for an expensive asset within Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, with a place on the bench taken up in a 2-1 Champions League defeat at Istanbul Basaksehir, and Ince admits those on and off the field need to be mulling over their options.
The former United midfielder told Ladbrokes: “I love Pogba. I think he’s a world-class player on his day. We saw that at Juventus. But since he’s come to Manchester United it’s been nothing but problems.
“Under Jose Mourinho and things with his agent, there’s always something. His performances haven’t been up to scratch, the fans have almost gone against him.
“If I was playing with him, I’d be saying ‘listen, you just go out there and play. Go out there and start performing. Once you start performing like you should be performing, then you can talk about wanting to sign for Real Madrid, because at the moment you can’t even get into the Man United side.’
“If I’m Paul Pogba, I’m sitting on the bench thinking ‘hang on, I’ve got Fred, Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes all playing in midfield and I’m sat on the bench? There’s got to be something wrong with me.’
“Man United is not about Paul Pogba.”
Pogba has aired a desire to represent Real Madrid at some stage in his career, but United have taken up an extension option in his contract that is due to keep him in his current surroundings through to the summer of 2022.