Arsene Wenger’s enmity (or a love story depending on the way you see it) with Manchester United’s new manager Jose Mourinho will carry a new spice to it with Mourinho doing things Wenger is not known for at Manchester United. Mourinho has spent big this summer transfer window bringing in a number of world class players and is on the verge of completing a world record transfer of Paul Pogba. So naturally, Arsene Wenger took a keen interest in this matter. In a recent interview, he revealed that he feels Pogba’s fee in excess of £100m is “completely crazy”. How much of these comments are fueled with the feud between the two managers and how much of truth do they carry?
At 24 years of age, Paul Pogba is set to give Italian outfit Juventus a profit of in excess of £100m in just 4 years on his sale to the same club they bought him on a free transfer. He is currently regarded as one of the best players in his position. He is an exceptional footballer with enviable technique and even better skill. He has the vision to find teammates even from tight areas and his ability to score goals from different ranges and angles make him an even bigger asset.
He is still a young player who is learning more the more games he plays but his recent exploits with the French national team in the EURO 16 showed that he is now an established midfielder at the highest stage. He also helped Juventus to three third consecutive Serie A title in his 4 years in Italy and took them to the Champions League final last year against Barcelona. He has time and again proven himself at the biggest stage against the best of the opponents and is a player whose profile gets him a place at a club like Manchester United.
There is no doubt that he is currently one of the best players around in Europe but his fee is a bit debatable. Gareth Bale at £93.1m and Cristiano Ronaldo at £83.7m are currently the top two transfers in the costliest transfers list and Pogba is set to break the record if and when he moves to Old Trafford. The Real Madrid duo proved themselves over the years and provided goals galore that saw their price rocket to the sky. However, Pogba, being a midfielder, cannot be judged on his goals or even his assists as what he provides to the team is far more. He controls the midfield, allows the transition from defense to attack and adds a cutting edge to his team that allows them to dominate games even against tough opponents.
There will always be a debate on whether he is as valuable as a Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale, but his influence on a team cannot be underestimated. This is one of the many reasons that the midfielder is valued at such a high price. He is currently contracted with the Italian outfit until 2019 and would not have been available cheaply in general anyway. His reputation along with the inflation in prices, that has seen insane amounts of money flow into European football over the years, is what drove his price to a ‘completely crazy’ level. Arsene Wenger’s comments do carry some weight to them but in the current generation of football, Paul Pogba, with all his attributes, is worth every penny that he is marketed for.
Do you think Arsene Wenger was right in tagging Pogba’s move to United as crazy or is it just a renewal of the Jose-Wenger rivalry?
