Paul Labile Pogba

[fredrian.seven]

Dia baru akan mulai pre-season setelah teken kontrak dengan United. Jadi rasanya kecil kemungkinan dia bakal main di pertandingan vs Bournemouth meski hanya sebagai pengganti. Pertandingan pekan kedua tanggal 19 Agustus, 10 hari dari sekarang. Entah fisiknya cukup fit untuk pertandingan atau tidak. Bisa jadi dia akan mulai dimainkan di pekan 3 tanggal 27 Agustus meski sebagai pengganti. Buat pemanasan sebelum derby tanggal 10 September.

Semoga dia cepet mencapai kondisi fit untuk pertandingan.

Jadwal 4 pertandingan United ke depan:
14 Aug Premier League Bournemouth A
19 Aug Premier League Southampton H
27 Aug Premier League Hull City A
10 Sep Premier League Manchester City H

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/paul-pogba-manchester-united-debut-11724516

[zudomiriku]

Paul Pogba is a very 21st century transfer... Manchester United reveals £100m deal in social media blitz times for overseas markets

* Paul Pogba has rejoined former club Manchester United in a £100m deal
* His announcement was revealed via several social media videos
* CARRAGHER: Can Pogba deliver like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard?

Emerging from the darkness, a silhouette against the bright lights and drifting smoke, Paul Pogba looks like a boxer about to embark on his pre-fight ring walk in a heavily branded black hoodie.

Dramatic music reminiscent of X Factor accompanies the moody 10-second clip. On another, longer version, Pogba appears holding a football as if to remind us what he does for a living.

It ends with him turning to the camera and declaring 'I'm back', as though this is the sequel to a Hollywood blockbuster.


Paul Pogba is once again a Manchester United player after joining in a £100m transfer


Both carried the wording REUNITED and #pogback in gold letters, matching his hair colour

Both videos appeared on Manchester United's Twitter account in the early hours of Tuesday to coincide with the news Pogba had completed his world-record £89million transfer from Juventus, rejoining the club he left for next to nothing four years ago.

Both carried the wording REUNITED and #pogback in gold letters, matching the colour of his hair.

Shortly afterwards, United were retweeting a video by their kit suppliers in which the adidas poster boy dances to a tune from rapper Stormzy, including the lyrics: 'Look man, I'm the one they all fear, I was the man of the year last year… now I'm the man of the year for a second year straight… sitting at the top, like, “Hold on is anybody there?”

Safe to say, this is not your average transfer deal. The days when signings would spend a couple of minutes holding a club scarf above their heads before a kickaround with team-mates may well be a thing of the past, but this was something else.


Pogba has appeared in another music video alongside grime artist Stormzy for adidas

WHAT A DIFFERENCE 37 YEARS MAKES!

It is more than 37 years since Trevor Francis caused a sensation by becoming English football's first £1million player, yet his unveiling was a far cry from the scenes that accompanied Paul Pogba's arrival at Old Trafford Tuesday.

On February 9, 1979, Francis moved from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest, but the deal was upstaged by Brian Clough, who turned up for the press conference wearing a red sports jacket and twirling a squash racket, telling Francis: 'Just give the ball to John Robertson - he's a better player than you.'

Cloughie's methods worked - Francis later scored the winning goal in the European Cup final - and goodness knows what Ol' Big 'Ead would have made of the furore surrounding Pogba!


At Trevor Francis' Nottingham Forest unveiling, Brian Clough arrived with a squash racket

The front page of Metro was even given over to a smouldering image of the new boy, just to prove this is a deal that has been completed for weeks.

Not even the arrival of the iconic Zlatan Ibrahimovic came close to this. Everything was carefully choreographed to ensure United broke the news with maximum impact around the world.

Confirmation of Pogba's arrival was delayed until after midnight - handily timed for news outlets in the United States and the Far East - the world's biggest transfer declared to the biggest global markets.

Morning brought another video posted by the club, charting his journey 'home'; a private jet touching down at Manchester Airport followed by a drive to the AON training centre at Carrington in a sports car provided by club sponsors Chevrolet. No commercial opportunity was wasted and adidas - who have a £750m deal with United and also sponsor Pogba - were at the centre of it all.

Pogba was filmed embracing members of staff he will remember well from his first spell at the club, which ended after seven first-team appearances.




He was driven to the club's training complex in a red Chevrolet with black stripes on it

SISTERS IN ON THE ACT

The laundry staff at Manchester United got a surprise visit from the club’s £89m midfielder. The women are sisters (from left) Paula and Debbie Cross, with Gail Anderson. Between them they have decades of service, looking after the kit for first team, Under-21 and academy sides.


Pogba poses with members of United's laundrette staff ahead of his move back

The Frenchman left as a boy in 2012 but returned on Tuesday very much the man.

'Now I'm taller and bigger,' he said in his first interview with MUTV, which was given similar five-star treatment by United. 'I just came back to Carrington and it was like I came home. Like I just went for a holiday. I came back and see the same people. It's destiny. I was meant to come back. I've always had this United thing in my heart.

'It's a good challenge to come back where you grew up. I didn't finish what I started here. I came to finish it.'

If United felt awkward about paying more for Pogba than Real Madrid did for Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale, having allowed him to leave for next to nothing, they weren't showing it.

Indeed, there is pride that they have fought off competition from Madrid for one of the most highly prized young players in football, and done so by striking the biggest deal in the history of the game.

The Spaniards remained in the running right the way through, but United were determined to close what has proved to be a hugely complicated deal. They have been monitoring Pogba's progress and noted how he 'tracked up' season upon season since turning down a £20,000-a-week deal to stay at United and joining Juventus four years ago.

Much of the problem then lay in the antipathy between Sir Alex Ferguson and Pogba's agent Mino Raiola. Heaven knows what the old United boss, who despises social media, made of Tuesday's circus.

The club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward made it his business to forge a better relationship with Raiola after Ferguson retired in 2013. That has reaped its rewards this summer, and for that Woodward deserves great credit.


Pogba has signed a five-year contract to re-join the Red Devils from Juventus

Since negotiations opened two months ago, Woodward has been in hours of protracted negotiations with the fastidious Raiola and his lawyer Rafaela Pimenta over clauses relating to tax and image rights in his £290,000-a-week contract.

In contrast, there were only two face-to-face meetings with Juve and their president Andrea Agnelli as the clubs haggled over a fee. United manager Jose Mourinho was also a key factor in the deal, having identified Pogba as the player he wanted to fit one of four 'profiles' he needed in the team.

Mourinho will be delighted to get his man. United, too, see this as a game-changer in their power struggle with Madrid and Barcelona. Tuesday they were determined to make the most of it. Now Paul Labile Pogba has to live up to it all.

LYRICS: STORMZY'S MASH-UP OF NIGO DUPPY

Verse
Look man, I'm the one they all fear
I was the man of the year last year
Now I'm the man of the year for the second year straight
Like nobody don't compare
And now I'm sitting on the top and I'm looking straight down
Like 'Hold on is anybody there?'
Shut down Malia, shut down Iceland
Oh my god this s***'s not fair
Look man, I was on the roads when Dizzee made Stop Dat
You're not a badboy, stop that
Pengtings on my WhatsApp
Yeah they love when I drop that
I put my city on my shoulders
You ain't cold, I'm cold, I'm the coldest
Got my Adidas creps with my nigo top
You can't get this yet, man are jokers
Yeah look, I made a tune with Nick Jonas
They said I sold out, that's bogus
I do a fire in the park, three million views
Now it's album time on the focus
Hook
Kill 'em with the skengman sound
Skengman flow, skeng man down
Kill 'em with the skengman sound
Skengman flow, skeng man down

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3732088/Paul-Pogba-21st-century-transfer-Manchester-United-reveals-100m-deal-social-media-blitz-times-overseas-markets.html

[penk22_]

Originally Posted by fredrian.seven

Dia baru akan mulai pre-season setelah teken kontrak dengan United. Jadi rasanya kecil kemungkinan dia bakal main di pertandingan vs Bournemouth meski hanya sebagai pengganti. Pertandingan pekan kedua tanggal 19 Agustus, 10 hari dari sekarang. Entah fisiknya cukup fit untuk pertandingan atau tidak. Bisa jadi dia akan mulai dimainkan di pekan 3 tanggal 27 Agustus meski sebagai pengganti. Buat pemanasan sebelum derby tanggal 10 September.

Semoga dia cepet mencapai kondisi fit untuk pertandingan.

Jadwal 4 pertandingan United ke depan:
14 Aug Premier League Bournemouth A
19 Aug Premier League Southampton H
27 Aug Premier League Hull City A
10 Sep Premier League Manchester City H

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/paul-pogba-manchester-united-debut-11724516

Tapi besar kemungkinan juga dia debut di Old Trafford pas pekan kedua, apapun kondisinya hehehe..

[fredrian.seven]

Originally Posted by penk22_

Tapi besar kemungkinan juga dia debut di Old Trafford pas pekan kedua, apapun kondisinya hehehe..

Bisa jadi... Menit2 akhir buat perkenalan ke fans. Bisa jadi gitu...

[alfafianjihan]

[QUOTE=Uni Finaa;659289]

Originally Posted by alfafianjihan

hahaha jadi curcol ni si alfafi

Aku nyanyi mbak, ndak curcol

[alfiandrmwn]

Pesan dari Rio Ferdinand untuk ‪‎Paul Pogba‬

POGBA returns

From the first moment he came through the doors of the treatment room (where players got strappings before training) I sensed there was something different about the kid.
Manchester United had taken him from Le harve and this was big news in France as Paul was highly rated. I had heard we had gone to great lengths to get his signature, so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

He was a tall gangly teenager (similar to myself at the same age) but he had a confident swagger in the way he carried himself, one of a nice determined confidence.
With very little time of him being there, the young players who had trained with him and the coaches were raving about the ability and maturity he possesed.

So I took a keen interest in watching him along with the ridiculously talented Ravel Morrison.
His stature on the pitch made him immediately stand out, but he passed gracefully over all distances and had feet like a ballerina with a ball at his feet & he could score goals from outside the box too.

Paul knew what he wanted - he wanted to be the best player that his ability would allow. He knew hard work alligned with his natural talent would go a long way to getting him there. You could see he had a pure love of the game, always around to do freestyle skills before & after training, extra work on the training ground on various areas of his game and importantly you could see he was his own man, not a follower, someone who would not be influenced by others.

I remember going over to watch a group of the youth team players training and thought they werent training in a complete professional manor and saw Paul, Ravel & Januzai all sat down chatting as everyone was going inside so I strolled over and got stuck into them a bit, asking "do you guys want to be top players, do you think switching on your efforts in training on & off are going to make the manager think you should be with the first team"?

They all could see the wrongs in their behaviour but I remember Paul saying he should be there with the first team anyway! That confidence in his own ability stood out above everything for me.

Once he got over with the first team on a regular basis I remember Scholesy hacking him to the floor almost every session and Paul looking around as if to say what is this... It toughened him up im sure but also showed us he was brave and didnt shirk that other side of the game - his ability wasnt questioned by anyone of the first team... it's a young players temperament that the senior players and coaches wonder about with the kids stepping up - Paul had it.

We all know that he was allowed (reluctantly) to leave for Juventus but before he went, I stopped him in the corridor at Carrington and started to tell him he is making a mistake going there "the italian league is weaker, the stadiums arent full" etc, anything to deter him but he said the deal had been done.

I finished by saying "what do you want to be man, a top player at the best club or what"?? Paul looked at me calmly and replied "The best player in the world". I walked off stunned, not I want a chance, I need games... this boy was thinking way beyond that!

There it was again, that inner confidence oozing from him. Fast forward to now and he is en route (still a way to go to get to there) but well on his way & with the platform of Old Trafford he has a real oppurtunity to be the next Man Utd player after Cristiano Ronaldo to be crowned the best player in the world.

Man Utd need to build around a group of young hungry players like Martial, Lingard, Rashford and Pogba is the one to lead that group from the front - the only way he would want it.

Good luck Paul

Rio

[alfiandrmwn]

BLOG: WHY POGBA IS KIND OF A BIG DEAL

Features editor Steve Bartram blogs on Manchester United's high-profile capture of Paul Pogba...

There are certain individuals who are quickly identifiable as a true Manchester United player; the gifted grafters with a penchant for flair and a relentless drive. Paul Pogba is such a player.

It is commonplace for Academy staff at United – and all clubs, one imagines – to be probed by pesky in-house media for their thoughts on the club’s young prospects. It is remarkable, however, to hear those staff being any more than cautiously optimistic about the hopes of an individual. Experience has taught them about talents who burn bright, burn out and burn those who backed them.

With Pogba, however, they made an exception. Pressed for an opinion on the hopes of the young Frenchman in the summer of 2010, a vastly experienced member of the staff let his guard down, grinned from ear to ear and chuckled, with a shake of his head: “He might just have a chance, that one.”

Six years on, those words have proven prescient. He may have taken the scenic route, but Pogba is now a central figure in United's midfield – and the manner of his capture sends a resounding message to competitors. In a transfer window when shots are scattergunning around the Premier League, United just went nuclear.

It is easy to wonder what might have been, had the Frenchman remained at Old Trafford when offered a new contract in 2012, but what ifs are both boundless and useless. To pass up the chance to sign him again on a point of principle would have been foolhardy, and the inevitable debate over his value is redundant until held in retrospect.

The profile of the deal fits both parties. United is a club long associated with glitz and glamour, known as ‘Moneybags United’ by the FA over a century ago, bankrolled by benefactors and frequently setting spending records in the non-stop pursuit of glory. This is a club steeped in opulence and prone to dramatic, big-name transfers. Had grime existed in Billy Meredith's day, who knows how his shock capture from Manchester City might have been announced?

We've never been afraid to show off our shiny new signings. Bryan Robson signed his British record deal on the pitch at a packed Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney was thrown to biro-wielding supporters and Juan Mata arrived from the heavens via helicopter. All previous announcements have been put in the shade this week, however, by an all-singing, all-dancing unveiling featuring hashtags, dabbing and dry ice.

Coming at the end of what often felt like history's longest drumroll, the razzmatazz was both wonderfully executed and fully justified. This is the first time United have broken the world transfer record, and that is some statement of intent; one that shows this club is unhappy to jostle along in a division where the difference between top and bottom has narrowed dramatically in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

To break out from the pack, thoroughbreds like Pogba make the difference. Not since Ryan Giggs have United had a 23-year-old with four league titles to his name, and the Frenchman has also featured in the 2015 Champions League final, Euro 2016 final and been named the best young player of the 2014 World Cup. Factor in the eclectic education of working with midfielders Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal, and there isn’t a youngster around with his pedigree or his wow factor.

For the money, United are getting a player who embodies all that this club about. A top-class talent who loves to get a little showy but never puts that ahead of hard yards. An all-round midfielder with ball-playing skills and a hefty dash of unpredictability, not to mention the tactical understanding inherent in spending four years with Serie A’s best team. Nicknamed La Pioche (‘The Pickaxe’), he has a knack of forcing his way through obstacles – and footage of his pre-season mixed martial arts training in New York showed the practical side to his training. He's ready for the physicality of English football.

Historically, many teams have been overcome in the tunnel at Old Trafford, looking over to see colossuses in both physical and mental senses. A sideways glance this season will yield glimpses of just such figures, with Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic reinforcing ranks which are now organised by the most charismatic manager in the country. United have more edge and presence than at any time in the last five years, since Ferguson's youthful squad overhaul of 2011.

Pogba could have been part of that revolution, but he and the club were out of step at a key time. No longer, however, and his assertion that he has been on holiday backs up the feeling that his second coming is more of a homecoming. He has remained in touch with several figures at the club over the last four years, including former youth-team colleagues, and he has never closed the door on a return to United when pressed, both publicly and privately. He is here because he wants to be here.

Ambition took him away and it has brought him back to where he belongs, to a club for big hearts, big ambitions and big statements. Make no mistake: this is kind of a big deal.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be considered as representative of Manchester United Football Club.

http://www.manutd.com/en/Fanzone/News-And-Blogs/2016/Aug/Steve-Bartram-blogs-on-Paul-Pogba-transfer-to-United.aspx

[zudomiriku]

Paul Pogba is the missing piece in midfield for Manchester United, believes Jose Mourinho

* Paul Pogba re-joined Manchester United in a £100m deal on Tuesday
* The 23-year-old will bring a lot of quality to midfield, says Jose Mourinho
* He says United lacked someone with defensive intensity but with the ability to drive the midfield forwards

Jose Mourinho is adamant that the capture of Paul Pogba restores balance to Manchester United's options in central midfield.

The Red Devils signed the 23-year-old for a world-record £100m fee from Juventus on Tuesday - in what has been the transfer saga of the summer.

Pogba's return to Old Trafford, after leaving the club for Juve in 2012, has added an extra X-factor to United ahead of this season.


Paul Pogba is the midfielder that Manchester United have lacked, believes Jose Mourinho

The France international will be competing against team-mates Michael Carrick, Morgan Schneiderlin, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini for a spot in Mourinho's midfield but the latter is delighted with the options at his disposal now.

Speaking about what Pogba's arrival brings to his squad, Mourinho was clear it filled a role that he felt was missing.


Mourinho says United has passers but no runners with the ball in midfield prior to Pogba

'We have [Michael] Carrick - a 35-year-old man who is stable and intelligent,' he told BT Sport exclusively. 'He plays in front of the defenders which gives us all the stability and is tactially very intelligent.

'We have people like [Morgan] Schneiderlin and [Ander] Herrera also - players with experience in the Premier League but after that we have No 10s. We have [Juan] Mata, possibly [Wayne] Rooney and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

'We don't have what I used to call the second midfield player. The one that is strong enough, powerful enough, has defensive intensity but at the same time has creativity and goals ability to drive the midfield forwards.

'We have passers, we don't have runners with the ball. So it's a profile of a player that we found.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3733925/Paul-Pogba-missing-piece-midfield-Manchester-United-believes-Jose-Mourinho.html

[alpben]

Did Adidas want Paul Pogba to join Manchester United?

As one of this summer’s most protracted transfers comes to an end, Paul Pogba’s lucrative £92.3m switch from Juventus to Manchester United could be a boom to Adidas, which sponsors both player and club, writes Tony Connelly and Seb Joseph.

Football’s worst kept secret is out and the timing couldn’t have been better for Adidas, with Pogba’s arrival at Manchester coming just days after it posted strong sales for the quarter. It caps an 18-month turnaround for the business, which is now looking to Pogba to kick it on to new heights.

Pogba to United is a perfect union for Adidas. More so than if he were to go Real Madrid, the other team that had made enquires. The German outfit is pumping marketing monies into six cities – London, Paris, LA, New York, Shanghai and Tokyo – where United has a strong fan base in each, with the US and Asia key destinations on its pre-season tour in recent years. Then there’s the fact that the sports behemoth is sweating its partnerships harder, meaning there’s more at stake now when its top players switch clubs, pressure compounded by the Premier League’s global dominance over La Liga.


Can sponsors influence football transfers?
While sponsors like Adidas aren’t driving transfers, they do exert a light touch. Of course they want their talent to play at clubs they provide kit for, and yes Adidas has a massive deal with United so it stands to reason it could play a role but it’s not going to be the deal maker or breaker. The athlete and club both have their networks which overlap that help facilitate conversations, and those increasingly will extend to sponsors.

Sama kaya Zlatan yang hijrah ke Adidas juga

Originally Posted by alpben

Zlatan Ibrahimovic swaps boots to Adidas who sponsor Man Utd

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was wearing these Adidas boots at Sweden training

Sweden captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks to have left his deal with Nike

The Sweden hitman — who is a free agent after leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last season — has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford.

And now the move seems even more likely as Ibrahimovic’s contract with boot sports giant Nike seems to have come to an end.

United’s kit supplier is Adidas and the former Barcelona striker was spotted in training wearing a pair of their branded boots.

Ibrahimovic has been linked with Nike since he burst onto the scene with Ajax and has been a big part of their advertising scene.

The charismatic frontman even had his own hastag advertising campaign ‘#DareToZlatan’.

And if he has parted ways with Nike and joins Adidas it could also mean he will be reunited with Jose Mourinho.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/1292992/manchester-united-transfer-news-zlatan-ibrahimovic-swaps-boots-to-adidas-who-sponsor-man-utd/

Sponsors have very strong and lucrative relationships and are often used as a good go between, says John Scurfield, head of MediaCom Sport and Entertainment. "For example, if Adidas wanted to work with a Nike player for Manchester United, they would use that and vice versa. I’ve experienced clubs doing that but beyond that initial interaction, I don’t think it is the case that they yield that much influence - an apparel brand or any brand for that matter wouldn’t have influence on a club’s ultimate decisions. Adidas might say, 'We’re spending millions, we’d like X percentage of the squad to be Adidas players' but they wouldn’t actually have any bearing on the decision. That’s where their influence ends."

A transfer now isn’t just one club talking to another; it’s a club talking to an agent, talking to another agent, talking to a third party, talking to the club, which then talks to the people who are funding the deal. The more people that get involved then the less direct reasons for signing that player. For example, shirt sales could be a key reason for sponsors to take an interest in the transfer of a high profile player. Indeed, Adidas make a profit on United’s shirt sales not the club, which instead has a guaranteed fee. It means that the German business has a lot riding on who signs for the club, particularly in some emerging markets such as China where players are more popular than the actual teams.

Pogba’s 13.2 million followers across social media will serve as a huge boost in this regard. The Frenchman is currently the most talked about player in the UK across social media with 30 per cent of all conversations pertaining to him.

Looking ahead, Brandtix chief executive Jon Rosenblatt, says the popular midfielder is “fast becoming a brand of his own, in the same way Neymar has done so successfully. Moving to United, and becoming Adidas’ top Premier League player will elevate him quicker than any other player that’s transferred of late," he adds.

The Brandtix sports index, which provides real-time picture of elite athletes’ brand values based on their sporting prowess and social media appeal, has shown that Pogba's brand value has surged 13 per cent in the last week alone. On top of that there are already signs of his contribution to the brand value of Manchester United, with the club's Brandtix value increasing by 9 per cent.

This plays into Adidas’ social strategy which regards shares as the most important metric and defines success on this front as being the most talked about sports brand by young football fans.

With reputations and budgets at stake it’s no wonder why there are rumours aplenty as to the role sponsors play in transfers today. Some newspapers claimed that Adidas would help bring its flagship athlete Messi from Barcelona to United last year, while there are others who believe the Premier League giant’s public courtship of Ronaldo two years ago was (in part) spurned once it became clear his sponsor Nike would not be making the club’s kit anymore

Conspiracies aside, chief executive of sports marketing consultants Primetime Sport and former marketing and commercial director at Barcelona Esteve Calzada argues Adidas’ role in Pogba’s transfer should not be overemphasised. “In my opinion the influence of the technical sponsor in the big signings is a myth rather than anything else,” he continued.

“Sponsors don't have a say in signings normally (except when close tie like Adidas being shareholder at Bayern). In cases like Pogba there are different opinions. Some people think that for the brand it's better to have a top player in a team of the same brand (Pogba-Adidas-United), while others (incl. myself) believe it's better that the big player gives brand visibility in a team of a competitor brand (like Ronaldo wears Nike at Adidas club Real Madrid and Messi wears Adidas at Nike club Barça).”

However, it’s not unusual for clubs and sponsors to employ econometric modelling for a potential signing in order to understand how they can recoup what are increasingly inflated transfer fees and maximise a player’s marketability, as Dr Anna Semens, head of analytics at HSE Cake explains: "It's becoming more popular for clubs to take an analytical approach to transfers, With more data than ever before available, econometric models can demonstrate where the value will come from should a particular club sign a specific player - both on the pitch and commercially, in order to reach a fair deal. However, it's still a mix of stats alongside the instinct and insight of the club and a network of stakeholders which drives where that player ends up.”

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2016/08/09/did-adidas-want-paul-pogba-join-manchester-united

[zudomiriku]

Why Manchester United can justify spending so much for Paul Pogba

* Manchester United splashed the cash to take Paul Pogba from Juventus
* Big-money midfielder left United for next to nothing at the age of 18
* Pogba may end up justifying his fee, he has an excellent all-round game
* Jose Mourinho can look at his squad and believe in United's title hopes
* Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic bring back United's era of the superstar

Paying £89million for a footballer seems outrageous. All the more so when he was at your club and left for next to nothing at the age of 18.

Yet the more you break it down, it becomes normal.

Even saying it is normal seems ridiculous. But in the case of Paul Pogba, he may end up justifying the world-record fee Manchester United paid for him.

He is an excellent midfielder whose all-round game would score 8/10 in every aspect: attacking, defending, tackling, heading, pace, shooting. There are not many players of his calibre and that's why he has cost so much.

The transfer market has moved on from the days when a world-record fee guaranteed a player who would deliver, such as Zinedine Zidane, the Brazilian Ronaldo or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Players of that quality, like Lionel Messi, do not tend to leave their clubs now. So the most expensive buys are those who look to have the potential to be that kind of star. And Pogba certainly has such potential.


Pogba is an excellent midfielder with not many other players being of his calibre

There are so many elements that make sense from United's point of view. First, break down the fee over his five-year contract and ask whether he is worth about £18m a season?

Admittedly, he is not quite the finished product — and that is where the element of risk comes in.

He's not as creative as a Toni Kroos or as strong defensively as N'Golo Kante or a goal machine like Frank Lampard. But he has all of those qualities, wrapped up in one player.

Positions tend to be moulded these days: you're either an Oscar, a creative midfielder, or a Kante, a holding one. Pogba offers both and more.

If he can lift his game so that one of those elements becomes 9/10 rather than 8/10 he will become the dominant player United need.

They are a money-making machine who have not won the title in three years and the lack of quality in their football has not dented that ability — yet.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and the Glazer family, who own the club, know they are judged by results and, ultimately, by shareholders. If they cannot deliver on the pitch then revenues will slow down.

With Pogba now on board, I imagine Jose Mourinho is looking at the depth of his squad knowing he has a great chance of winning the title.


Shirt manufacturers adidas will be delighted with the impact the Pogba deal has

The key signings in Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have lifted the overall quality. They have turned the squad from being mediocre by United's standards to being more like the United of old in terms of the depth.

The likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Memphis Depay, Daley Blind, Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini, Phil Jones and Morgan Schneiderlin are likely to be bench players. It won't please them, but it does suit the club.

You know you are going to achieve consistency when you have players like that to come in. And Pogba can make a difference which accounts for so much more than just his cost.

Consider, too, how United fell in status. They were always the team of the megastar. From what Duncan Edwards might have become, through to George Best. Sir Bobby Charlton or Denis Law, Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham, they have been built on glamour.

It has been hard to say that in the last five years, with Wayne Rooney the only real global star. Giggs was, of course, but he was at the end of his career. It's been a long time since someone iconic has been centre stage and now, in Pogba and Ibrahimovic — who is past his best — they have two.

And the glamour has developed since the old days when it was about getting the best players to obtain results. The whole announcement of Pogba's arrival demonstrated that. There was a Hollywood-style trailer announcing: 'I'm back!' And a rap video collaboration with Stormzy.

It wasn't quite up to the standards of Diamond Lights, but it was a glitzy affair, all designed to persuade young people to buy his shirt! And I'm sure such marketing will succeed.

Sponsors will be more comfortable with the sums they have paid United for their deals, not least the shirt manufacturers, who also sponsor Pogba. Those sponsors will be more likely to renew at higher rates if Ibrahimovic and Pogba make an impact and United will be confident they can pull back plenty of the cash they spent.

Yet Pogba also needs to be a success on the pitch. You can't have superstar status without superstar delivery. That's why I hope Jose Mourinho plays him far enough forward to showcase his real strength — powering past people and getting in the box. He had a holding role for France at the Euros and his abilities were being limited. He can't have a free rein, but I hope he's not reined in.

It looks as though Mourinho wants to play a striker such as Wayne Rooney in the pocket behind Ibrahimovic.

If so, I hope Pogba is the most-attacking midfielder, rather than sitting alongside Michael Carrick. He needs that freedom to be at his best. And his best can be absolutely superb; good enough to help United to the title and good enough to start paying off huge chunks of that outrageous fee.

Much as I admire United for getting Paul Pogba, I'm not sure it is the game-changing moment where they can now out-muscle the likes of Real Madrid in the market.

It is great that he is arriving in his prime, after the Premier League lost players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez in recent years.

But I suspect if Real had seriously wanted to make him the star of their team, then that is where he would have ended up.

There is a downside to United's expensive summer recruitment: the development of Marcus Rashford.

He's 18, had a great breakthrough season and scored eight goals in 18 appearances. He needs to kick on and that means playing in 30-40 games.

It's difficult to see him doing so but perhaps the Europa League will enable Mourinho to use his squad to the full.

Rashford must not be another casualty of the Premier League's billions.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3739273/Why-Manchester-United-justify-spending-Paul-Pogba.html