Paul Pogba: Gratitude, Gluttony and why the Juventus Stadium should remain his home this summer

The world has gone mad. A 22-year-old boy has arrested the fingertips of football journalists hailing from every single country on the planet. Hover your hands over the computer keyboards of these men and women and you'll feel rays of heat jumping from the 'P', 'O', 'G', 'B' and 'A' keys and scorching your skin. 

It's Paul Pogba mania. 


(Paul Pogba has become Europe's most wanted man this season - image via Alex Livesy/Getty Images)

The hype is understandable, but not totally justifiable. The Juventus midfielder doesn't have a particularly great record in Serie A this season. He's scored 8 goals and notched up two assists in 24 appearances for his side this term, underwhelming for a man considered to be "the next big thing", and his pass accuracy rate of 83% isn't fantastic. Statistics narrate an interesting chapter of every story, but never the entire thing. 

The truth is that football fans have an obsession with reincarnations. "The next Messi" and "the next Ronaldo" are overused titles thrown around to attract attention and get people talking. If there's a footballer that exists who people believe is going to be the next Messi, I'm probably going to click on that link and see what it's all about, but rarely do these "next" guys ever live up to the hype. I remember when Tom Cleverley was described as "the next Paul Scholes" and, well, look at him now.

According to many, Pogba is "the next Patrick Vieira". That makes you sit up, but it still doesn't explain the hype. Geoffrey Kondogbia has also been likened to the Arsenal legend, but he's not become the face of every back-page in Europe despite probably having similar amounts of ability.


(Pogba has been likened to French compatriot and Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira - image via arsenaltsn.com)

Kondogbia also doesn't have an agent called Mino Raiola. The man who famously told Zlatan Ibrahimovic to "go f*** himself" is one of the real characters on the football agent's scene. The Swedish striker describes him as a "genius" in his autobiography, explaining how the tubby 47-year-old attended his first meeting with the PSG striker wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Raiola is unconventional, but he has been involved in transfers totalling more than £400m during his 22-year career. He's one of the major reasons why Pogba's popularity has spiked this season.

It comes as no surprise to learn that many of Raiola's clients are considered to be the eccentrics among most footballers. Zlatan, Mario Balotelli, Romelu Lukaku and Paul Pogba are just four of the Italian's 26 clients, players that have been involved in transfers totalling over £200m in the last ten years, and Raiola has begun salivating over his next big pay-check as the summer approaches.

Paul Pogba is the most high-profile name available on the transfer market this summer. Juventus will not sell their man for anything less than £50m according to various reports, but they shouldn't be selling at all. Considering the fact that the Frenchman has uttered absolutely nothing in relation to his future next season, one gets the feeling that his gluttonous agent is pulling the strings in the pantomime-like saga. 

At 22-years-old, Paul Pogba already has what many young footballers fantasize over in the early stages of their careers. Juventus are an illustrious club that have appeared in the Champions League final seven times in their 117 year history. They'll appear in their eighth on June 6th, and Pogba will almost certainly feature in their starting line up. If Juventus manage to collect their third Champions League trophy in two-and-a-half weeks time, it will be their eighth major piece of silverware in the last ten years and Pogba will lift the most prestigious cup in European football a year younger than two-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo was when he first won the medal.


(Juventus will play in their eighth Champions League final on June 6th after beating Real Madrid over two legs in the semi-final - image via Alex Livesy/Getty Images)

Success, a place in the starting line up and the appreciation of a monumental fan base is guaranteed for Pogba at the Juventus Stadium, a fact his agent should be highlighting rather than shielding from his client. 

Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona are believed to be the front-runners for the midfielder's signature and will offer him wages of up to £220,000-a-week to join their respective clubs, but allowing cash to guide his career path at 22-years-old and with first team football guaranteed at a thriving football club could be a horrific mistake for Pogba. 

Gary Neville called for football agents to act as advisers in a compelling discussion with Jamie Carragher on Sky Sport's Monday Night Football episode two days ago, but his hopes are false. Football agents and football players no longer operate in unison, but players must show some intelligence and think about their careers rather than their representative's lust for cash.

Pogba was regarded as a hot prospect at Manchester United, but the club could not offer him the first team football he desperately craved. Juventus came in for the 18-year-old in 2011, gave him what he wanted and facilitated his progression into one of the most exciting footballers on the European scene today. It's something the young man should remember when the transfer window opens on July 1st.

Forget the PFA, Sergio Agüero will go down as a Premier League legend

Sergio Agüero's omission from the PFA Team of the Year has got the conspiracy theorists chattering again. 

(Agüero scored three in City's 6-0 win over QPR last weekend - via Getty Images)

The Argentine was beaten to a place by Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Chelsea's Diego Costa. Kane deserves his spot, his transformation has been one of the most intriguing subplots of the season, but Costa probably doesn't; he's been good, but also incredibly annoying.

Personal opinions aside, what makes the PFA's choice particularly perplexing is Agüero's record this term. The Manchester City striker has outscored both of the players that beat him to a place, netting six more goals than Costa and five more than Kane. Goals are pretty important, but I'll accept that they aren't everything, which makes his exclusion that little bit more baffling. Agüero has registered more assists, more shots on goal and has completed over 30 more take ons than both of his scandalously fortunate competitors this season, but still no place. 

I mentioned above that Kane deserves his place, so I'll lay off him for the remainder of this piece, but Costa isn't off the hook. 

(A comparison between Sergio Agüero and Diego Costa this season)

Of course, it's not his fault that he was included in the team. The blame lies with the Professional Footballer's Association who seem to base their selections on what is expected rather than solid, honest statistics. Harsh, perhaps, but Kane was a bit of a nobody before the 2014/2015 campaign and his dramatic rise to the top of the goalscoring charts has been tremendous. The PFA couldn't leave the young Englishman who has defied the odds out of their team. 

As for Costa, he's notched up an impressive goal tally in his first season in the Premier League - a division famed for its muscular defenders and physicality. Nineteen goals in 24 games is an admirable return for a newbie, but does that make him more deserving of a place in the Team of the Year over a man who has scored six more goals than himself? If the PFA are operating on that logic, why was Agüero overlooked in 2011/2012 when he bagged 25 goals and scored the crucial goal in his first and City's title winning season?

I doubt Sergio has lost any sleep over the matter. Making the Team of the Year is nice, but not particularly important for a bloke earning around £200,000-a-week. The 26-year-old will be much happier scooping up the Golden Boot award at the end of the season. The reason I complain is because it would be nice for Manchester City fans to see a little recognition from the PFA for our superb little South American. 

City fans are understandably concerned about the issue, but not one of us can claim that Agüero is underrated. He's perpetually peppered with praise from the British media and receives applause from top football managers on a regular basis. Before his side's clash with the Blues back in October, Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino said that watching his fellow Argentine was "like listening to classical music composed by Mozart". Praise like that is common for the striker - people know just how good he is. 

(Agüero is no stranger to praise from the British media)

But sadly, the PFA continue to ignore his excellence. In their best three seasons in the Premier League, legendary strikers Thierry Henry, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Didier Drogba netted 72, 69 and 61 goals respectively. Sergio Agüero's tally currently stands at 67 and with two games left to play this season, that total is likely to rise. 

Regardless of what the PFA might think, Sergio Agüero is destined to go down as a Premier League great.

Roberto Mancini is to blame for Tevez's sour Manchester City exit

Sitting at his computer last night and meeting the roar of his ungodly notifications list, Roberto Mancini had time to ponder over his capricious spell at Manchester City.

It's almost ridiculous to consider that the Italian, who ran such an iron-fisted administration at the Etihad Stadium, is now partial to a spot of social media every now and again, but he is. Last night, as Juventus claimed a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final, Mancini dared not to click on the #Tevez hashtag. 

It has been almost four years since Mancini declared Carlos Tevez 'finished' at Manchester City after the Argentine refused to come on as a second-half substitute against Bayern Munich. The farce saturated the morning papers as journalists preyed on the striker's controversial reputation and assaulted him with tags of selfishness and arrogance. 

Ironically, it was the same man who was utterly inspirational in Juventus's tremendous performance last night. The 31-year-old scored the winning goal and provided the assist for former Madrid forward Álvaro Morata to open the scoring at the Juventus Stadium, but his enthusiastic display failed to surprise anyone. Tevez has probably been Massimiliano Allegri's most reliable player this term, which raises questions over whether Roberto Mancini was to blame for the striker falling out of love with football in Manchester.

(Carlos Tevez was instrumental in Juventus's victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday night - image via Getty Images)

Sergio Agüero shed some light on the situation in his autobiography last October, commenting on the 'short fuse' that Mancini and Tevez shared.

“I was on the pitch at the time so I had no idea what was happening on the bench in that part of the field. It was obviously very heated in the dressing room after the game and Mancini was going mad at Tevez telling him to go back to Argentina and then he told some other players to go back to their countries.

"I was sat next to Carlitos and at one point I thought Mancini was telling me to go back to Argentina! I was thinking, ‘What? Me as well? okay, I’ll go and see my family for a few days.’ Of course, he wasn’t speaking to me. As for speaking to Carlitos afterwards, he didn’t really say too much and the next day, he had gone back to Argentina as the manager had suggested and it was maybe four months before I saw him again when he came back to Carrington for a meeting.

"I believe there had been a number of fall-outs between Carlitos and Mancini in the past so this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Tevez can have a short fuse at times, just as Mancini did, so it was perhaps inevitable that it would explode at some point."

(Carlos Tevez infamously refuses to play against Bayern Munich in 2011 - image via The Manchester Evening News)

After that infamous four month lay-off, not even Mancini could resist leaving Tevez out of the side. Tevez returned to help City win their first Premier League title in 44 years, an admirable gesture considering he had contemplated retirement after his row with the Italian.

Signed for a reported £40m from Manchester United in 2009, the man nicknamed 'El Apache' netted 73 goals in 148 appearances for the Blues and became a symbol of their newfound success. The tenacity of the former Corinthians and West Ham United forward was unmatched at the club - his effort regularly praised by smitten fans - but his relationship with Mancini falsely conveyed him as a pretentious mercenary.

Perhaps it's unsurprising that Tevez submitted two written transfer requests during his stay at the Etihad. Citing the distance between him and his two daughters as the primary reason for both requests, the club finally handed him his wish in 2013, selling him to Juventus for a measly £12m. Given the fact that Turin is only 100km closer to Carlito's beloved Buenos Aires, it's pretty clear that Tevez was just happy to be as far away from Mancini as possible.

The striker has enjoyed two successful seasons with the club he took a significant pay-cut to join. He's bagged an impressive total of 50 goals in 92 appearances and has given no concrete indication that he is keen on leaving the club. Tevez is happy, he is treated with respect by his manager, and that obviously wasn't the case in his final years at Manchester City.

(Tevez has netted 20 goals in this season's Serie A - Image via Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

On Tuesday evening, Manchester City fans watched the performance of a player who can certainly be considered as one of the top five strikers in world football at present. Carlos Tevez outshone £190m worth of talent in Juventus's 2-1 over Real Madrid, a game in which Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos floundered. It was the performance of a £50m player that City sold for £12m - just £2m more than the fee they let Jack Rodwell go for last summer.

City's transfer directors have been slated for their poor business in recent years, but Mancini's irresponsible treatment of one of the best players Manchester City have seen in the last decade meant that Tevez just had to go. For once, Txiki Begiristain should not be ascribed the blame.