Nicky Butt pinpoints key reason behind Paul Pogba’s struggles at Man Utd

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Nicky Butt explains how Manchester United were responsible for making life hard for Paul Pogba when he returned to Old Trafford in 2016.

After initially leaving Manchester United in 2012, Paul Pogba returned four years later for a then-world-record fee of around £89 million.

United fans hoped Pogba would become the midfield fulcrum, arriving with high expectations and tipped as a generational talent who could bring the glory days back to Old Trafford.

Pogba won both the Carabao Cup and Europa League in his first season, but his time at the club was marked by inconsistency. There were moments of brilliance, but he was unable to perform regularly at a high level to become the dominant midfield force fans expected.

The weight of the world-record fee and intense media scrutiny were factors behind Pogba failing to meet expectations, but there are other reasons involving the club that made life a lot harder for the World Cup winner.

Six years on from his United ‘homecoming’, Pogba returned to Juventus on a free transfer. He is currently playing for AS Monaco in Ligue 1 after making his eagerly awaited return to action last weekend.

Nicky Butt explains why Paul Pogba struggled at Man Utd

Nicky Butt not only graduated from United’s academy before making 387 appearances for the first team, but he also played an important role for nine years in coaching and player development roles.

The former midfield ace worked closely with several players, including Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay and Dean Henderson.

Butt also has a soft spot for Pogba. On the recent episode of The Good, The Bad & The Football, he explains how United made life difficult for the Frenchman when he returned to Old Trafford.

Joined by Paul Scholes, Butt argues that United were too focused on using Pogba for commercial purposes, after spending three days with Adidas to work on his unveiling.

Butt draws comparisons to when he played and how Sir Alex Ferguson ensured that his players focused on their football.

“When he came back, I met him a few times, really good lad,” Butt said.

“I think the club made the rod for their own back with the signing. They built this monster, a commercial monster, and then didn’t like the fact he was getting too big.

“They set this big studio up, and it was like a three-day filming all his, ‘I’m back’, his adverts, which is obviously sponsored by Adidas, which was his boot sponsor and it was huge.

“I was thinking, ‘it’s a bit over the top.’ I know as a young player, and if you’re having a bad time, all you want to do is concentrate on football. Paul was the same. All you want to do is get in the training complex with the people that you’re comfortable with, and do what you’re good at.

“I also know he got dragged from pillar to post for commercial, all week, and I’m not meaning one day a week. I mean three, four days a week. I’ve never seen any commercial like that in my life.”

Scholes replied: “If he was around our era, we’d have looked after him.”

Butt added: “We had superstars in our squad, and I mean superstars. You had like Keaney, Giggsy, him [Scholes], Cristiano [Ronaldo].

“All these players are superstars. They never got that. And do you want to know why? Because they had a manager who controlled everything.

“Fundamentally, half past 10 in the morning, until one o’clock in the afternoon, you was a footballer. You’d get one commercial day a week that you did something for the club, which the club was well within their right to ask for that, because you were getting paid a lot of money.

“When Paul came in, it was totally different. It was like football’s 50%, commercial’s 50%. All I know is when I was growing up at that age, if I was having a bad time, all I wanted to do was get on a training pitch and get back to basics, and he couldn’t do that.”

Butt also revealed he wanted Toni Kroos to join Pogba at United in 2016.

What did Paul Pogba say after leaving Man Utd?

Pogba previously admitted that his second spell at United did not play out as planned.

The France international became a World Cup winner during his time with the Red Devils, but he struggled for form and fitness at club level and ultimately left Old Trafford under a grey cloud for a second time.

Speaking to GQ Italia after re-joining Juventus, Pogba reflected on his time at United, saying: “I like to think and say that it is my heart that made the choice to come back to Juventus. It was also maybe the right time to come back here. The last three years in Manchester, also conditioned by injuries, did not go the way I wanted, it’s not a mystery.

“Juventus came from two years in which they did not win the Scudetto. It was a good challenge for both of us, and maybe it was the right time to get together and try to take back our rightful place: me and Juventus. Inside of me I know that this jersey is very special. It brings out my best. We built a good history with this team, which I never forgot even when I left. Coming back here for me is always a reason to push even harder, to stimulate myself to do well. I never had any doubt that this is where I belong.”