Paul Labile Pogba (born 15 March 1993) is a French professional footballerwho plays for Italian club Juventus and the France national team. He operates primarily as a central midfielder and is comfortable at playing both in attack and defence.
On 3 July 2012, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson confirmed that Pogba had left the club after not signing a new contract. Ferguson stated that Pogba had signed for Italian clubJuventus "a long time ago as far as we're aware." Ferguson also accused Pogba of disrespecting Manchester United, saying, "It is disappointing. I don't think he showed us any respect at all, to be honest. I'm quite happy that if they [footballers] carry on that way, they're probably better doing it away from us." On 27 July, Juventus confirmed on their official website that Pogba had undergone a medical at the club, and the transfer was completed on 3 August, when he signed a four-year contract. He made his first appearance for Juventus in a pre-season friendly against Benfica in Geneva on 1 August, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute for Andrea Pirlo.
Pogba's first competitive appearance with Juventus came in the
Serie A match against
Chievoon 22 September 2012, where he played the full 90 minutes. On 2 October, Pogba made his first appearance in the
UEFA Champions League in a 1–1 home draw against
Shakhtar Donetsk, and on 20 October, Pogba scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win over
Napoli. On 31 October, he started against
Bologna and scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 victory. Pogba also contributed to the opening goal scored by
Fabio Quagliarella. The midfielder was subsequently praised for his performance in the match by several Italian media outlets such as
la Repubblica,
Il Messaggero and
La Gazzetta dello Sport.
On 19 January 2013, Pogba scored two goals against
Udinese. Both goals were scored from outside the box, with one of them being a spectacular 40-yard goal. On 5 May 2013, Pogba was sent off in Juventus'
Scudetto-clinching game for spitting towards an opponent after being slapped in the face.
On 18 August 2013, Pogba was a key protagonist of Juventus' 4–0 win over
Lazio, the match that won Juventus the
2013 Italian Supercoppa. During the match, Pogba replaced
Claudio Marchisio and scored the first goal of the game; he was elected Man of the Match. In December, Pogba was named 2013's
Golden Boy for the best young player in Europe.
On 22 December, Paul Pogba scored a goal and contributed to Juventus's 1–4 away win against
Atalanta. In January 2014, Pogba was named by
The Guardian as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe. On 18 January 2014, Pogba was decisive in Juventus's 4–2 victory over
Sampdoria, as he scored and assisted for the team. Three weeks later, Pogba assisted a goal as Juventus drew 2–2 against
Verona. On 20 February, Pogba scored his first goal in
UEFA club competitions as Juventus defeated
Trabzonspor 2–0 at home in the first leg of the round of 32 of the
2013–14 UEFA Europa League. On 14 April, Pogba produced a beautiful assist in Juventus's 2–0 win over
Udinese, the same team that Pogba scored two magnificent goals against in the previous season. Later that week, Pogba scored the only goal in Juventus's 1–0 win over
Bologna. Pogba was also named the man of the match for his performance. Pogba would prove to be a key player for the club that season, breaking into the starting line-up, and making more appearances (51) for the club than any other player across all competitions that season, also scoring 9 goals. He finished the season by winning his second consecutive
Serie A title under manager
Antonio Conte, and reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League.
On 20 September, under new Juventus manager
Massimiliano Allegri, Pogba contributed to Juventus's win against Milan by providing the assist for the only goal of the game, scored by
Carlos Tevez. Later that month, on 18 October, Pogba saved Juventus from a defeat against
Sassuolo by scoring a decisive equaliser; he was later named Man of the Match. On 24 October, Pogba renewed his contract with Juventus, tying him to the club until 2019. On 4 November, on his 100th appearance with the club, Pogba scored Juventus's third goal against
Olympiacos in the
Champions League, helping them to win the match; this was his first ever Champions League goal. On 22 November, he scored his first brace of the season in a 3–0 win against Lazio at the
Stadio Olimpico in
Rome. On 28 October, Pogba was named as one of the 23 shortlisted candidates for the
2014 Ballon d'Or; at 21, he was the youngest on the list. In 2014, Pogba was awarded the
Bravo Award, by the Italian sports magazine
Il Guerin Sportivo, which is awarded to the best under-23 player who has participated in European competitions.
On 11 January 2015, Pogba helped Juventus secure their first win against Napoli at the
Stadio San Paolo in 14 years as he scored a stunning volley that helped Juventus beat Napoli 1–3. On 15 January, he scored his first goal in the
Coppa Italia as Juventus defeated Verona 6–1 in the round of 16 of the tournament. On 9 March, Pogba scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory against Sassuolo to put Juventus 11 points clear of
Roma at the top of the league table. In the second leg of Juventus's round of 16 match-up against
Borussia Dortmund, Pogba was taken off during the first half after injuring his hamstring, and was later ruled out for two months. He returned to the starting line-up on 9 May, scoring in a 1–1 home draw against
Cagliari, as Juventus celebrated winning their fourth consecutive
Serie A title since 2012. On 13 May, Pogba set up
Álvaro Morata's equaliser against
Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final; the goal allowed Juventus win the tie 3–2 on aggregate to advance to the
Champions League Final for the first time in 12 years. On 20 May, Pogba set up Juventus's first goal as they defeated Lazio 2–1 at the Stadio Olimpico in the
2015 Coppa Italia Final.
On 15 July 2015, Pogba was named to the ten-man shortlist for the 2015
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. For the
2015–16 season, he was awarded the prestigious
number-10 shirt, following Carlos Tevez's departure, which had previously been worn by
Alessandro Del Piero,
Roberto Baggio and
Michel Platini. On 8 August, he assisted a goal in Juventus's 2–0 win over Lazio in the
2015 Supercoppa Italiana. On 12 August, it was announced that he placed tenth in the
2015 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. On 31 October, Pogba made his 100th Serie A appearance in a 2–1 home win over
Torino in the
Turin Derby, also scoring Juventus's opening goal from a half-volley from outside the area. On 24 November, Pogba was nominated for the 2015 UEFA Team of the Year.
My opinion who is best midfielder in Juventus in current is Paul Pogba he is perfect midfielder for attacker or defender.