Pogba’s January Exit Would Be 'Best' For Manchester United, Says Former Red Devils Star

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince has said Paul Pogba leaving the Old Trafford club in January would be the “best thing” for the Red Devils.

Pogba once again saw himself in the center of unwanted attention with his agent Mino Raiola’s recent comments about the French midfielder’s future at Manchester United.

Ince, who played for Manchester United between 1989 and 1995, has said the club should have parted ways with Pogba sooner to prevent the current unpleasant situation involving the former Juventus star.

"The best thing for Manchester United is for Paul Pogba to leave. I actually thought, when they signed [Donny] van de Beek, that they were preparing for Pogba to leave. But they clearly aren’t as Van de Beek didn’t get on [against Manchester City], which is embarrassing for me. I don’t envisage him being at the club by the summer. He’s got to go - he wants to go. I think it’s best that both parties part ways," Ince told Stadium Astro.

Just before Manchester United’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig last week, Raiola gave a statement, saying his client’s run at Old Trafford was "over" before adding he has already begun to hunt clubs for Pogba, who could leave Manchester United next summer. Reacting to Raiola’s comments, Pogba later said he is fully committed to Red Devils as he is contracted with them until the summer of 2022.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side lost two back-to-back matches in the Champions League – vs Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Leipzig – and as a result, the side dropped to Europa League. Even in the 2020-21 Premier League, the Red Devils are placed eighth, having won only six of their 11 fixtures this season. Amid the already existing concerns about his side’s form and game, Solskjaer is being forced to answer questions about Pogba’s future.

Ince, the former Red Devils star, has also added Sir Alex Ferguson would never have allowed one player to make so many headlines.

"Under [Jose] Mourinho, there were so many problems coming out in the papers. That would never happen under Sir Alex Ferguson, never. It’s from day one that this has happened. He’s never really adhered himself to the fans, despite joining as a young kid. His performances were very inconsistent and he started telling fans that he wanted to leave, so they never really took to Paul Pogba. Every week, every month, we see something coming out of Old Trafford about Pogba, his agent, and it upsets the club, the fans, the changing rooms," added Ince.

It was earlier reported that even though Manchester United may be open to selling Pogba, who is linked with Real Madrid and Juventus, the club has doubts whether the clubs can afford their player, who earns $386,000-a-week.