Paul Pogba is now onto his third Manchester United manager, and Ralf Rangnick has stated he will not fight to keep him.
It is an interesting approach from the interim boss, who made the comments via the club website at the end of last week, cutting straight to the point.
Rangnick said: “If a player does not want to play for a club like this in the long term, I don’t think it makes sense to change his mind. This is such a massive club, with fantastic support from the supporters, I don’t think that anyone in the club would ever need convincing to stay here.”
Pogba under Jose and Ole
Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho had a strong relationship at first. Trophies help, and who can forget the images of the pair smiling with the Europa League trophy as they flew back from Stockholm in 2017.
It seemed like a manager and star player partnership the club could build around. Sadly it unravelled disastrously over the following 18 months.
Mourinho and Pogba began to fall out around the Sevilla defeat in early 2018, and there was tension between the two after France’s World Cup win. By December 2018, Mourinho had dropped Pogba from the side and ended up being sacked amid a dire run of form.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came in, and adopted the complete opposite approach. The Norwegian indulged Pogba in every way possible.
Solskjaer never once criticised Pogba in public, talking him up and insisting he would build around him. He created a new position for Pogba to fit him into the side, playing him out wide on the left – something Rangnick says he disagrees with, commenting: ” I see him as a midfielder rather than a striker or a left winger.”
Pogba has been allowed to fly to Dubai for his injury rehab, another decision Rangnick is unhappy with. He said: “In the future I have already spoken to the medical team and I want players to stay here and not go elsewhere.”
With regards to Pogba’s contract, Solskjaer did not take a hardline stance like Rangnick.
The former boss’ decision to indulge Pogba in 2018/19 was fine. It gave him the necessary freedom to express himself and show him a bit of love after the Mourinho era. The problem was, Solskjaer showed no signs of changing that, despite a lack of commitment from the midfielder.
The right approach for Pogba in 2022
Pogba will be a free agent next summer. The time to indulge him any longer is gone. Bowing to Pogba’s demands and begging him to stay by overpaying him makes United look weak.
It not only uncertain that Pogba wants to stay at United, it is also unclear whether and where he fits into Manchester United’s best XI.
Ralf Rangnick is not taking an abrasive approach like Mourinho, he is just taking a simple ‘matter of fact’ outlook, and letting everybody know where he stands.
It is healthy for Manchester United supporters to hear this, as opposed to Solskjaer’s ‘everything is rosy’ outlook he tried to imply, playing fast and loose with the truth with reporters, see his previous comments on Alexis Sanchez.
If Pogba wants to stay at United, which we doubt, then he will have to prove it, to Rangnick and supporters. And nobody will be begging him to stay.
Rangnick has got this one right. The interim boss is restoring a bit of pride to the club, on and off the pitch.
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