Paul Pogba reveals how Manchester United block his exit in 2019

Paul Pogba has admitted that he wanted to leave Manchester United in 2019 because he no longer felt committed to the club, but his move was blocked.

The French midfielder, who eventually departed Old Trafford on a free transfer in the summer of 2022, initially rejoined United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of £89million.

Reflecting on his time at the club, Pogba believes his best season came in 2018-19, when he finished as United’s top scorer.

However, despite the optimism surrounding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s new managerial era following Jose Mourinho’s departure in December 2018, Pogba was ready to move on.

Speaking to the Mail Sport’s Sami Mokbel, his first with a UK outlet since his football ban was reduced, the 31-year-old opened up about his frustrations and the emotional challenges he faced during that period.

“I will tell you something I’ve never told anyone,” Pogba teases.

“The year Jose went and Ole came, it was my best season at United but after the last game I told Ole and Ed Woodward that I thought it was my last year and that I wanted to leave.

“I was 27 back then, it didn’t work out the way I wanted.

“I gave my best but I didn’t see the club going upwards.

“Manchester City and Liverpool were better than us and they were improving.

“Ole said yes (to me leaving) and that he would talk to Ed.

“My head was already that I wanted to go but I came back for pre-season because I wanted to be professional.

“I spoke to Ed to try to make a move but he blocked it. I didn’t want to play for United anymore but I had to be professional.

“Mentally I wasn’t there and then I got the injuries.”

In 2019, Paul Pogba openly expressed his desire to join Real Madrid, even favoriting tweets related to the club on social media right up to deadline day.

He referred to playing for the Spanish giants as a “dream” in March of that year.

Ultimately, he returned to Juventus but struggled with injuries, making only 12 appearances before facing a significant setback with a failed drugs test in August 2023.

In February, Pogba, then 30, received a four-year ban from football after testing positive for testosterone following Juventus’s first match of the 2023-24 season against Udinese.

This ban posed a potentially career-ending challenge for the midfielder, as determined by an anti-doping prosecutor’s office in Italy.

However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has since reduced his ban to 18 months following an appeal.

This ruling allows Pogba to return to play in March 2025, with training permitted starting in January.

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