Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Extended Clip - Paul Pogba Injury: Is Juventus & France Legend’s Career Over?
1.2k Plays3 years ago
After suffering yet another injury which reduced him to tears on the pitch in what was heartbreaking, Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese ask themselves if the career of Juventus and France legend Paul Pogba is effectively over.
This is an extended clip from this weeks free Monday episode of The Italian Football Podcast which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google podcasts.
To listen to ALL complete episodes of The Italian Football Podcast, go to Patreon.com/TIFP and become a Patron for only $2.99 USD per month (excluding VAT).
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to the Italian Football Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast.
00:00:05
Speaker
Let's
Juventus Victory Recap
00:00:06
Speaker
move on to Juventus, who beat Clemones at 2
Pogba's Emotional Exit and Injury
00:00:10
Speaker
-0. But there's only one talking point from this game, really, and that is the really, really sad scenes of Paul Pogba going off in tears. His first start of the season, his first start since returning to Juventus last summer from Manchester United on that free transfer, his first start in 390
Pogba's Short-Lived Comeback
00:00:29
Speaker
days. The last start was on April 19, 2022, for Man United against Liverpool.
00:00:35
Speaker
But this first start, it only lasted 23, 24 minutes. He tried a clicked ball and he's pulled a muscle in his thigh. He goes off in tears. Demerir comes off the bench and consoles him. I mean, first of all, before we look at
00:00:56
Speaker
what this means for his career and his future. I mean, first of all, that was just such a sad sight, wasn't
Pogba's Career-Long Injury Struggles
00:01:02
Speaker
it, Nemo? You couldn't help but feel really sorry for him. It was heartbreaking. It was really, really heartbreaking. It was nice to see him completely break down like that. And you can't help but feel
00:01:15
Speaker
empathy with someone whose career has been marred with, you know, this is not the career anyone expected him to have. And it's been injury after injury after injury after injury.
Juventus' Management of Pogba's Health
00:01:28
Speaker
And it's a shame. But this is, you know, we've been saying, I think we both have been saying, and I know I have been saying maybe, you know,
00:01:36
Speaker
He can't cut it physically at this level. The talent and quality we all know, who he is, what he can do, what his strengths are, what his weaknesses are, but I wonder if he can cut it. I've said it for a few. Since you've bought him, that was on paper, we said it. It's a great
00:01:57
Speaker
It's a great signing on paper, but the injuries are a huge, huge question mark. It started off awfully. Juventus didn't do him any favors.
00:02:07
Speaker
They should have operated him immediately. They didn't. They made it worse. They operated him. He missed a World Cup and all of you went to see... That was a two-way thing, though. I mean, Juventus, I blame. They should have put their foot down and they should have said, look, we're the bosses. We pay your salary. This is what you're doing. Or you don't play for us. They should have said that. But this was Pogba as well. This was Pogba using his influence and his power and his entourage and saying, why want to play in the World
Is Pogba's Body Failing Him at 30?
00:02:32
Speaker
Cup? So I want to do it this way. And then it backfired, of course.
00:02:37
Speaker
you know so they're both to blame as much as each other you've entered so just as much as the blame as Pogba for the way that that injury was handled but the injuries are i mean it's not just this season with the injuries i mean yes this season is a total disaster see that was his sixth injury of the season and he's played just 162 minutes of football this season they're all like been all been recently since april been like short very short sub appearances between like 10 and
00:03:04
Speaker
20 odd minutes long you know but that's all he's played and and you know he didn't make his first appearance till the end of February didn't make his first start till last night uh but it's not just this season his injury record over recent years is horrific he's missed over 150 games for club and country in the last four seasons and it's clear now at the age of 30 that his body it just can't cope with the rigors of top level top level football anymore and you know he
00:03:34
Speaker
his body literally is falling apart. To get injured so easily. He wasn't doing anything exerting yesterday with that ball. It was just a little clipped ball cross and he pulls a muscle in his thigh. He wasn't put under any pressure. He wasn't put only under stress. He wasn't going for a real sprint. Sometimes people with weak hamstrings, when you go for a real full out sprint, you can
00:03:59
Speaker
you can pull a muscle in your hamstring or people that like myself for example you know i've got very
00:04:06
Speaker
but I've got flat feet I have and that puts a lot of pressure on my knees and ankles. And when I played, I used to be so susceptible to knee and ankle injuries because as soon as I just twisted or I didn't land in the right way, I would twist. Some people are injury prone, but with Pogba, it just feels like his body is just given up on him. That's what it feels because to get injured that easily, I don't know if it can be
00:04:35
Speaker
I don't know if it can be sorted because this has been going on for years, for four years this has been going on.
Risk and Financial Impact of Signing Pogba
00:04:42
Speaker
The idea that at the age of in his 30s, it's suddenly going to solve itself. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't really see it. I don't think you're wrong. I think we both called it. It's a big risk. And I think it was a risk worth taking because it's still
00:05:05
Speaker
You know, it's it's still pog bar no free transfer But it didn't pay out. It didn't pay off and he's not I don't think he'll ever be The player he once was ever again, and I don't think but can I just say for the record them? I was against this sign Yeah, you were I remember I got so much abuse from it. I remember you said it was an unnecessary risk I remember it in our medical review literally said this is an unnecessary risk that I don't that you didn't think was going to pay off and and and and I said
00:05:34
Speaker
you know i remember me saying to you that i mean i would have been i would have been for the risk nimmer if it was a two-year contract or maybe at most a three-year contract but a four-year contract you're giving him 10 million a year and that's not including taxes
00:05:47
Speaker
I mean, that's too much. That's too much for a club that we already knew their financial problems. And we've seen even more now with what's going on from COVID and the effect that had on the club and all the capital injections that they've had to get from their holding company and all that. We've seen it. So then, I mean, you just can't justify it. And when you add him and Allegri together, you're looking at 20 million a year, not including taxes on Pogba and Allegri. And I'm sorry, that's just not sustainable. And it's just not justifiable with what we're getting out of it.
00:06:17
Speaker
Look, I think with Allegri, I take issue with you there. But with Pogba, I think it was a risk. It was a risk and it didn't pay off. And I think you're absolutely right. Every risk, every everything you do, you have to assess the risks. And like you said, a four year contract, 10 million a year with that injury, you know, with that injury history, injury records, it's just.
00:06:40
Speaker
It was a very, very big risk and it didn't pay off.
Future Prospects for Pogba and Career Reflections
00:06:43
Speaker
I don't think it will pay off. I think, I think Yuva and him will kind of have a talk this summer and say, look, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if you went, like I said, a couple of months ago, I think wouldn't be surprised if we saw Messi, Ronaldo and Pogba in Saudi Arabia. That's sad, isn't it? To see, to see Pogba in Saudi Arabia at the age of 30, that's sad.
00:07:09
Speaker
That is really sad, you know, at that age. I'm not saying before any of the Saudi Arabian listeners have a guy, I'm not saying, you know, don't go to Saudi Arabia, but I'm saying at the peak, he should still be playing at, you know, in the peak of his career at 30 to basically for us here to be sitting here discussing his career over. It's very sad. It's very sad. And I think if we're looking, you know, I know he's achieved quite a bit in his career, but I can't help but feel the biggest, one of the biggest what ifs is Paul Pogba.