The most expensive player in footballing history!
The 23-year-old midfielder has all the tools to be our Ballon D'Or winner. His goals and extravagant celebrations are usually good enough to go viral, he has a type of style and individuality that's hards to find in the modern game.
Letting Pogba leave Manchester United in 2012 is still regularly labeled as the biggest oversight of Sir Alex Ferguson's career, but the Frenchman has long outgrown the shadow of Old Trafford. His form for Juventus landed him in the FIFA World XI for the first time in 2015 and he added to his extraordinary season by signing an astronomical sponsorship deal with adidas.
Euro 2016 is made for Paul Pogba. He spearheads a France side widely tipped for glory on home soil, 18 years after they lifted the World Cup on a famous night in Paris. That side was celebrated as a triumph for France's multicultural DNA and Pogba – black; muslim; the son of immigrants; from the suburbs of Paris – is the perfect man to carry those values forward.
With an interview with Complex, Paul Pogba invites us into his world;
How do you look back on your time in Manchester?
I really miss Manchester because it’s where I made the most of my teenage years and I had lots of friends there. It’s a different culture, I found they’re more open than French people. I was in digs with a family and they treated me like their son.
Was it a challenge to move to a different country at such a young age with a family that you don’t even know?
I was ready in my head. I was focussed and knew I wanted to be in Manchester, to go there at a young age was fine. I wanted to play football, I knew that’s what I wanted in my life and I was ready to make any sacrifice to do it.
An example of how incredible that transformation was is N’Golo Kante – who went from being a lower league player in France to a member of your Euro 2016 squad. Did you know much about him before you saw him with France?
I didn’t know him until I saw him with Leicester but once I saw him with the national team, wow. He was just running everywhere, he’s so calm and he’s a nice person, too. He works hard for the team and he knows where he wants to go. Three or four years ago he was in the French lower leagues, now he’s about to play in the Champions League! That’s the beauty of football.
You have two brothers who are also both professional players in France and Scotland, was there much of a rivalry between you growing up?
I was always playing against them and always losing against them! They were stronger and more technical than me but I liked that. I always had the mentality to say ‘one day I will beat you’. It made me better everyday but none of us ever got jealous, we’re all so happy to be successful in our careers. We always encourage each other and I watch their games when I can, they watch mine. We have a great relationship.
Was playing on the streets of Paris a big part of your life growing up?
Yes, everyday. Everyday we’d go on the street to play 5v5 or futsal. That’s Paris, when we play football that’s how it is. We started out in the hood and we’d play between cars and stuff, it was never glamorous.
Was there a game you played in as a child that made you realise just how talented you were compared to your friends? A moment that made you think your dream was within reach?
To be honest, I never really had a belief that I’m better than anyone else – I just wanted the chance to show people I was better. I always wanted to win and whenever someone claimed to be better than me, my attitude was to say ‘okay, let’s play’. I always loved a challenge.
Talk about the huge deal with adidas that you signed earlier this year. What was it about adidas that made it the right place for you?
Since I was young, I was always playing with adidas – it’s crazy. I always played with Predators, just like the ones Zizou used to wear. I chose adidas because of the product – I love the shoes and they just fit me. Once I wore adidas, it reminded me of when I was younger.
Pusha T recently posted a photo of your boots on Instagram, saying he was a gifted a pair by you. Do you know how that came together?
Pusha T actually helped me get with adidas, he made a nice video to encourage me to sign with adidas – and through that I saw adidas were genuinely interested in me, too. I thought I had to give him a little something, and the boots were a good place to start.
Pusha T and Kanye have both been very hands on in their roles with adidas. Would you like to follow their lead and work on the creative side of the company, too?
Yeah, that’s the objective and it’s what I want. It would be a good challenge for me, to make something outside of football and that’s why I like adidas. It’s about more than football. They want to make an impression on culture, too.
Stormzy is another adidas face and you met up with him over in Germany a few months ago, as we saw on Snapchat. What was that experience like?
It was very cool to see him, we’re quite similar in many ways. I’m on football and he’s on music but we both love what we do. I’d actually heard his stuff before, the ‘Shut Up’ freestyle, but I didn’t know it was him. Once I saw him I said ‘that was you!’ and it was very cool, I actually love London. That’s such an English track, it’s proper UK rap and it reminds me of my time back in Manchester.
Aside from Stormzy, what are you bumping on the pre-match playlist right now?
I love American music, of course. Artists like Future, Drake, Fetty Wap, Young Thug, Travis Scott…US hip-hop is my thing. Not a lot of the other players like it but I put it on anyway. They’re too old, I’m trying to educate.
What’s the ultimate goal for Paul Pogba?
Holding up the Ballon d’Or, of course. That would be a dream, the Ballon d’Or is something else, I’d love it. But I’m still far away and there’s work to do.
Paul Pogba is now the face of the future of football, he came from humble beginnings is promised big things for the future. He is a great image of hope for his culture.
