Paul Pogba is NOT world class in any shape or form, insists former Man United coach Rene Meulensteen

Paul Pogba is NOT world class ‘in any shape or form’, insists former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen as he slams Frenchman for ‘not working hard enough’ since arriving at Old Trafford

  • Paul Pogba has come in for more criticism after costing Man United vs Arsenal
  • The Frenchman gave a penalty away at Old Trafford after fouling Hector Bellerin
  • Consistency has been a major issue for Pogba since he arrived for £89m in 2016
  • Rene Meulensteen claims Pogba has fallen short of standards at Old Trafford

Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen has torn into Paul Pogba, insisting he is nowhere near good enough to be labelled world class.

Consistency has massively plagued the French midfielder since his eye-watering £89million move in 2016 – which was then a world-record transfer – to Old Trafford.

And Pogba has since come in for more criticism following his display in the defeat against Arsenal, giving away the penalty for a foul on Hector Bellerin that led to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s winner.

Paul Pogba has come in for more criticism following his performance in the defeat by Arsenal

Paul Pogba has come in for more criticism following his performance in the defeat by Arsenal

And Meulensteen, Sir Alex Ferguson’s former right-hand man at United between 2007 and 2013, insists criticism of the French World Cup winner is deserved.

He told Stadium Astro: ‘You can have all the talent in the world but it’s about hard work, and it’s hard work that brings that quality to the surface.

‘For me, he hasn’t worked hard enough. I can see it all the time, it’s too slow, it’s laboured and there is no urgency about it and other teams can capitalise on it.

‘He is a very talented player. Everyone keeps talking about him – he’s world class, he’s world class.

Rene Meulensteen has urged Pogba to work much harder if he wants to be a success at United

Rene Meulensteen has urged Pogba to work much harder if he wants to be a success at United

‘I would never use world class so easily because I know players past and present and they deserve the accolade of being world class. In my opinion, Paul doesn’t deserve that in any shape or form because I don’t think he’s lived up to expectations.

‘I don’t think we expect too much of him because of the player he has been and the trophies he has won.

‘We need to expect even more from him, but that only comes from working hard. That then rubs off on other players. Not working hard does as well because they start to question those performances.’

Once again Pogba, who re-joined from Juventus four years ago with such high expectations placed on his shoulders, has endured a frustrating spell of late at United.

Before his costly error in the Arsenal loss, in which he came in for criticism for failing to track back properly against Bellerin, he had been benched by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Pogba gave away the penalty that led to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's winner at Old Trafford

Pogba gave away the penalty that led to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s winner at Old Trafford

Solskjaer has continued to struggle fitting both Pogba and Bruno Fernandes in the same team following the Portuguese star’s arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January.

And after the humiliating 6-1 defeat to Tottenham at Old Trafford at the beginning of October, Pogba was tasked with making an impact from the bench in three consecutive games against Newcastle, PSG and Chelsea.

Pogba will be desperate to silence his critics when United take on Istanbul Basaksehir away in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

But is there no guarantee of his position in the starting line-up as Solskjaer once again has a selection headache following the harrowing defeat against Arsenal. 

The Frenchman has been used as an impact sub in recent games by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

The Frenchman has been used as an impact sub in recent games by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

source: dailymail.co.uk