Paul Pogba | Undergoing Medical | Helping out the Laundry Ladies

Do you want Pogba for £100 million?


  • Total voters
    1,968
I know some will dispute it, but I'd say Pogba would be our first prime "World Class" player since Ronaldo left.

23 years old and would be a natural starter for any club or country in the World currently.

RvP was maybe closest to it in between, but was 29 and perhaps just at the brow of his peak

RVP was definitely in his peak when we got him imo

He was the best player in the league.
 
Im sure we are trying or best to force this over the line and am more than very confident it will happen, but I don't understand what the hold up is.
 
I'm all for buying Pogba, but that's just not the case for me. Even at that point you could not list the two best players in the world without including Ronaldo, and Pogba's just not at that level. He's a notch or two below, even if I believe he'll prove to be a top five midfielder in the coming years.

Currently, age considered, I'd say that Neymar is the only player you could buy that would compare to buying Ronaldo at the time Real bought him.

Pogba will never have the goalscoring or match winning record of a ronaldo, because that is not what pogba is designed to do, he is designed to grab games by the scruff of the neck and make our engine room more slick, powerful and able to dominate games, if he helps us do that he has done what united bought him for. Xavi, or iniesta, or pirlo all in their prime will never be on that messi level in what he can do scoring goals, but what they all do is also pretty damn priceless, control of the game, the passing and dictating of the game, they will never score goals but what they contribute is also just has important
 
Im sure we are trying or best to force this over the line and am more than very confident it will happen, but I don't understand what the hold up is.

Him being on holiday?

One has to wonder how many times this same dialogue or a variation of it has been had in this thread over the last two or three weeks.

The circular conversation to end all circular conversations! And to think people got more annoyed by the page count banter! :lol:
 
Even at his best i don't think "rooney" was ever a "galactico", but i do agree we have had some great names. shame tevez was not a permanent signing because that would've been another one

If Madrid had bought Rooney in his prime he would have been one of their 'galacticos'.
 
I know some will dispute it, but I'd say Pogba would be our first prime "World Class" player since Ronaldo left.

23 years old and would be a natural starter for any club or country in the World currently.

RvP was maybe closest to it in between, but was 29 and perhaps just at the brow of his peak

I don't think he's world class at the minute but he's obviously a top player and will improve us no end and I'm sure he's a future ballon d'or winner.

I agree with @Raoul regarding Di Maria too, I was kinda answering him with my 10/10 post, I believe Ronnie was at a higher level when he left us than PP will be when he joins us.
 
I don't really view Ronaldo and Messi as world class - as its not really a term that does them justice. They are more in the Pantheon of all time greats who deserve their own category. That is how they will be remembered in 20-30 years from now - not as just world class during their era.
 
I don't really view Ronaldo and Messi as world class - as its not really a term that does them justice. They are more in the Pantheon of all time greats who deserve their own category. That is how they will be remembered in 20-30 years from now - not as just world class during their era.

Any other players you've seen play in your lifetime you'd include in that elite category?
 
I don't really view Ronaldo and Messi as world class - as its not really a term that does them justice. They are more in the Pantheon of all time greats who deserve their own category. That is how they will be remembered in 20-30 years from now - not as just world class during their era.
No not really.

People seem to be forgetting was transpired in the past and think what they're seeing now is the absolute best when that isn't really true. This is simply a case of recency bias.

Heck years from now the next superstars will likely be treated and seen as the peek of football and such.
 
I don't really view Ronaldo and Messi as world class - as its not really a term that does them justice. They are more in the Pantheon of all time greats who deserve their own category. That is how they will be remembered in 20-30 years from now - not as just world class during their era.

I suppose it depends on where you stop the gauge, I think world class is viewed as the pinnacle so those two are at the top and there's various levels below them, a bit like Spinal Tap having 11 on their Marshall stacks :lol:
 
No not really.

People seem to be forgetting was transpired in the past and think what they're seeing now is the absolute best when that isn't really true. This is simply a case of recency bias.

Heck years from now the next superstars will likely be treated and seen as the peek of football and such.

Its actually the other way around. People tend to inflate the quality of players they saw when they were young because they seemed larger than life, as opposed to players who they see as adults who despite being transformational, once in a lifetime players also seem oddly mortal. Its a perceptual illusion that obscures how fans look at current stars vs the stars they grew up with.
 
I know some will dispute it, but I'd say Pogba would be our first prime "World Class" player since Ronaldo left.

23 years old and would be a natural starter for any club or country in the World currently.

RvP was maybe closest to it in between, but was 29 and perhaps just at the brow of his peak

Well, I'll argue De Gea is in that category for certain.
 
Its actually the other way around. People tend to inflate the quality of players they saw when they were young because they seemed larger than life, as opposed to players who they see as adults who despite being transformational, once in a lifetime players also seem oddly mortal. Its a perceptual illusion that obscures how fans look at current stars vs the stars they grew up with.
I don't see it that way.

I mean just as an example your post would do. You think Messi and Ronaldo have attained some unseen level yet that's not really true. It's worth remembering that the likes of Ronaldo(Brazilian), Zidane and such did exist and played football.

Ronaldo was banging 47-50 goals a season at Barca while being injury prone, something that is earning Messi and Ronaldo some hyperbolic like titles from people. Zidane showed such high level of technical football that is very rare to see around.

What is happening right now is that Messi and Ronaldo happen to be better than the current crop right now which lead them to sharing the awards thus inflating their individual awards compared to the likes of Ronaldo(Brazilian) and co.
 
Its actually the other way around. People tend to inflate the quality of players they saw when they were young because they seemed larger than life, as opposed to players who they see as adults who despite being transformational, once in a lifetime players also seem oddly mortal. Its a perceptual illusion that obscures how fans look at current stars vs the stars they grew up with.

Would agree with that.
 
I don't see it that way.

I mean just as an example your post would do. You think Messi and Ronaldo have attained some unseen level yet that's not really true. It's worth remembering that the likes of Ronaldo(Brazilian), Zidane and such did exist and played football.

Ronaldo was banging 47-50 goals a season at Barca while being injury prone, something that is earning Messi and Ronaldo some hyperbolic like titles from people. Zidane showed such high level of technical football that is very rare to see around.

What is happening right now is that Messi and Ronaldo happen to be better than the current crop right now which lead them to sharing the awards thus inflating their individual awards compared to the likes of Ronaldo(Brazilian) and co.

The freakish thing about the current two is the consistency though - nobody has done it so long, so constantly. Though modern sports science helps.
 
I don't see it that way.

I mean just as an example your post would do. You think Messi and Ronaldo have attained some unseen level yet that's not really true. It's worth remembering that the likes of Ronaldo(Brazilian), Zidane and such did exist and played football.

Ronaldo was banging 47-50 goals a season at Barca while being injury prone, something that is earning Messi and Ronaldo some hyperbolic like titles from people. Zidane showed such high level of technical football that is very rare to see around.

What is happening right now is that Messi and Ronaldo happen to be better than the current crop right now which lead them to sharing the awards thus inflating their individual awards compared to the likes of Ronaldo(Brazilian) and co.

Yes I know all that. I've been watching football since the late 70s. Its just a basic facet of how our minds work. A bit like fondly remembering the amazing places you lived as a kid, then revisiting them as an adult only to be taken aback by how small everything is. You build something up in your mind over the years and its tends to take a privileged place in your brain. Football is not exempt from this process.
 
Ronaldo was banging 47-50 goals a season at Barca while being injury prone

Saddens me so much that we were robbed of something truly beyond belief. Injuries and a complete lack of professionalism kept him from being the best ever and yet he still won three WPOTY and two Balon d'Or. Before his first knee injury (WC '98 final fiasco notwithstanding) he was the closest thing to unstoppable I've ever seen.
 
Its actually the other way around. People tend to inflate the quality of players they saw when they were young because they seemed larger than life, as opposed to players who they see as adults who despite being transformational, once in a lifetime players also seem oddly mortal. Its a perceptual illusion that obscures how fans look at current stars vs the stars they grew up with.

Same thing happens with basically everything. Nostalgia
 
I don't really view Ronaldo and Messi as world class - as its not really a term that does them justice. They are more in the Pantheon of all time greats who deserve their own category. That is how they will be remembered in 20-30 years from now - not as just world class during their era.

Yeah I'd agree with that. They have jumped past the world class mark to the legend mark. Football legend that doesn't rest on a club.
 
9It6hLs.jpg

Even Young Money is joining in on the muppetry
 
Anyone else think Mourinho & Pogba's team will be pushing him to become a goalscoring midfielder like Lampard? I'm certain that's a key reason he's so desperate to join United.

"I'd like to surpass [Frank] Lampard. I want to be the midfielder who can do everything, and at the highest levels. Shooting, dribbling, scoring, defending. I want to be like Lampard, but better."

He said this a couple of months ago back in April

He would be a global superstar that transcends sports like Ronaldo, Neymar, LeBron, Kobe, Messi, Jordan etc if he can score 20 goals every season like Lampard did with his God given talent, flair & Rockstar lifestyle.

Can see Mourinho building his team around him & giving him the freedom to get forward like he did with Lampard.
 
One has to wonder how many times this same dialogue or a variation of it has been had in this thread over the last two or three weeks.

The circular conversation to end all circular conversations! And to think people got more annoyed by the page count banter! :lol:

They're both really tedious but at least the holiday question is vaguely related to the topic. The "banter"/spam you're describing was just honestly a drag to read for most people, in truth.
 
Anyone else think Mourinho & Pogba's team will be pushing him to become a goalscoring midfielder like Lampard? I'm certain that's a key reason he's so desperate to join United.



He said this a couple of months ago back in April

He would be a global superstar that transcends sports like Ronaldo, Neymar, LeBron, Kobe, Messi, Jordan etc if he can score 20 goals every season like Lampard did with his God given talent, flair & Rockstar lifestyle.

Can see Mourinho building his team around him & giving him the freedom to get forward like he did with Lampard.

I hope he does. He's got all the skills to take on a Lampard type role incorporating his own unique creative skills.
 
Well, I'll argue De Gea is in that category for certain.

Absolutely. De Gea is comfortably in the top 3 in his position in world football, and many would argue that he could be the best. If that's not world class, I don't know what is, and he's still not in his prime. I'm not sure the same can be said of Pogba yet.
 
They're both really tedious but at least the holiday question is vaguely related to the topic. The "banter"/spam you're describing was just honestly a drag to read for most people, in truth.

I think it was funny to begin with and actually it seemed a bit of a 'challenge' in the context of the ludicrousness of this thread. But, yes, the joke did wear thin and became forced pretty quickly once people start cottoning on to it in droves. Even worse it was being forced by people talking about it directly and not just with other forms of nonsense (can't say I wasn't a little guilty of this myself!). Conversely though some were still asking entirely innocently about the page count while all this was going on much in the same way some were still innocently asking when Pogba was back from holiday despite the countless number of times this had already been answered.
 
It's from the mitten article, but still interesting.

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said almost three years ago that the club would not be beaten on price for the best talent, and it is he who has been driving the deal to sign Pogba, the process for which included a trip Florida to meet the player and his agent last month.

http://www.espnfc.com/club/manchest...d-moved-to-the-brink-of-signing-of-paul-pogba

You'd have thought someone might have covered this at the time?
 
This thread is so long that we need a separate thread with daily cliff notes.

I swear some of you have too much time on your hands.
 
One thing I've always felt about Pogba, and maybe regular Serie A watchers can correct me, is that his game isn't as refined and assured as it should be. Whenever I watch him, his moments of class are obvious, some of his touches are trickery are superb. But he can also be very erratic at times. Unlike, say, Modric, who I think is the best midfielder around right now, and who is assured to a supreme degree in everything he does. With Modric you sort of know he has complete control over all his actions. That's why I found the 100 million tag funny when I first heard it. But we obviously believe he's about to make that step up soon. And he has to. For this big a fee, you need an elite player, and from what I've seen of Pogba, he's not quite there yet.
 
Pogba doesn't have a grudge with United, he had one with Ferguson. Also I think that grudge can be well and truely burried, Pogba was right, he won, we all know that, the world knows that, us paying £100m now shows that United knows it aswell. If Fergie still has a problem with it, then it will be his problem from now on and his alone, not ours anymore.
Pogba choosing to leave here and go to a Juve side with a much better midfield than us was ballsy on his part. That's the kind of risk taking that Sir Alex would be proud of. For example in 95 when he stupidly(yes,that's what many said at the time) sold first team players and replaced them with a bunch of nobody youth players.

A lot of people thought he would fail ,but that he returns not just having succeeded but being one of our most successful academy players ever is a testament to Paul. It's why I think this record fee won't overraw him, it might actually spur him on.
 
Pogba choosing to leave here and go to a Juve side with a much better midfield than us was ballsy on his part. That's the kind of risk taking that Sir Alex would be proud of. For example in 95 when he stupidly(yes,that's what many said at the time) sold first team players and replaced them with a bunch of nobody youth players.

A lot of people thought he would fail ,but that he returns not just having succeeded but being one of our most successful academy players ever is a testament to Paul. It's why I think this record fee won't overraw him, it might actually spur him on.
I don't think Ferguson wouldn't be petty when it comes to Pogba, mainly because he respect Mourinho and he would be wise enough to not making this a big deal
 
I don't think Ferguson wouldn't be petty when it comes to Pogba, mainly because he respect Mourinho and he would be wise enough to not making this a big deal
Fergie said nothing when Moyes completely disregarded his advise and got rid of his entire backroom stuff. He also seems to have not let his issues within Rooney continue post retirement.

He has largely stayed retired and loved this club to not cause trouble for it. That's why he hardly comments on us.
 
One thing I've always felt about Pogba, and maybe regular Serie A watchers can correct me, is that his game isn't as refined and assured as it should be. Whenever I watch him, his moments of class are obvious, some of his touches are trickery are superb. But he can also be very erratic at times. Unlike, say, Modric, who I think is the best midfielder around right now, and who is assured to a supreme degree in everything he does. With Modric you sort of know he has complete control over all his actions. That's why I found the 100 million tag funny when I first heard it. But we obviously believe he's about to make that step up soon. And he has to. For this big a fee, you need an elite player, and from what I've seen of Pogba, he's not quite there yet.
He's not there yet.

But for me,I'm more excited to see what Mourinho can do with him. He did it with Lampard and Hazard.

Lampard's story of how he did that is both weird but also shows how Mourinho is able to tap into a player's psyche and push them to an even higher level.