Playing for France 'a breath of fresh air', says struggling Man United star Paul Pogba

ByEnis Koylu

Updated 16/11/2020 at 11:29 GMT

Paul Pogba has struggled to get into the Manchester United team this term after missing much of the last campaign with injury and has admitted that representing France, with whom he won the World Cup two years ago, is like a breath of fresh air compared to his struggles at club level. “I have never known such a difficult period in my career,” Pogba said.

Paul Pogba has admitted that representing France is like a "breath of fresh air" after his struggles at club level for Manchester United.

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The former Juventus midfielder spent much of last season on the sidelines with a foot injury and has been in and out of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first XI this year, with Bruno Fernandes establishing himself as the star man in the centre of the park.

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He played 90 minutes for his country in the Nations League win over Portugal at the weekend and has admitted that he currently prefers turning out for Didier Deschamps' side.

“I had never known such a difficult period in my career,” Pogba told RTL.

"The France team is a breath of fresh air, the group is exceptional, it's magic."

France's next engagement is against Sweden on Tuesday.

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Our View - Pogba's struggles are hard to explain

When Paul Pogba moved to Manchester United four years ago for a world-record fee, he was supposed to be the man who led the club back to their rightful perch. But things have simply not worked out since then.

While he had to survive the tail-end of the tumultuous Jose Mourinho era, and suffered repeated injuries during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure, it is hard to explain how much he has struggled at United. The conundrum is made all the stranger by his barnstorming performances for France in the World Cup-winning campaign two years ago, and by memories of his glory days in Turin.

With Bruno Fernandes performing brilliantly and Donny van de Beek under-utilised, it may be best for Pogba and United to go their separate ways, either in January or the end of the season. A fresh start elsewhere, be it in France, Spain or Italy, would allow him to put this unfortunate period of his career behind him.

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