It’s no surprise Paul Pogba savours France duty with his ‘family’ after being

Few footballers in the game have as much pressure on their shoulders as Manchester United‘s Paul Pogba. 

As for France‘s Paul Pogba, that’s another story, as explained by his national team manager Didier Deschamps. ‘When a player is unhappy at club level, of course he is happy to play for France,’ he said this week after slamming United for their treatment of his star midfielder.

The 27-year-old seems to have a magnifying glass pressed against him every time he takes to the field for the Red Devils, and after a chaotic saga at Old Trafford that has left his future in doubt – especially now after losing his place in the team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Paul Pogba is facing an uncertain future at Manchester United after losing his place in the side

The midfielder retains hero status for the France side after winning the World Cup in 2018 

Is it any surprise that heading off for international duty might feel like something of a holiday for United’s £89million man? Since Deschamp gave him his first cap in 2013, Pogba really has been ‘Mr France’. And 72 caps later, he has been virtually ever-present for Les Bleus with a treasured World Cup to his name.

Pogba missed just one game en route to capturing that famous crown in Russia in 2018, and continued to prove vital in the year following – starting his next nine games before being crippled by a niggling ankle problem – which forced him to miss a huge chunk of the 2019-20 season.  

Flash forward to the present and the man who was tipped to restore United to the glory days can hardly buy himself a start in the team and is facing an uncertain future at Old Trafford. 

The £89m star has faced constant pressure to perform at Old Trafford and could soon depart 

His recent bit-part role – which has seen him start two out of the last six games – provoked anger from Deschamps, who admitted the playmaker had ‘lost his rhythm’.

‘I know Paul well and he knows the squad well,’ he told the media. ‘He finds himself in a situation with his club that he can’t be happy about, neither in terms of his playing time nor his position.

‘He’s not at his best, he’s had a string of injuries and Covid-19 has also affected him adversely. He needs to rediscover his rhythm. 

‘He did well in the matches that he was involved in last month and performed consistently despite his lack of rhythm. Nevertheless, we can’t say that he’s blossoming at club level.

‘There’s no problem with me, but I also work hard to manage him.’

His France boss Didier Deschamps has remained loyal to him and sees him as one of his leaders

Deschamps also slammed United for their treatment of Pogba and admitted the player was ‘happy to play for France’ given his current situation

Hard work indeed – no national team manager wants one of his best players sitting on the bench for his club – and Pogba’s series of unfortunate events have changed the dynamic slightly for him with France. 

Eight months out injured saw him miss out on six…