Paul Pogba. MASSIMO PINCA / PANORAMIC
Returning to Piedmont last summer, the French international has still not played any official meeting with the Bianconeri.
«About Pogba“. This is the one of The Gazzetta dello Sport this Thursday. The Italian sports daily is annoyed – and also expresses the impatience of Juventus Turin – after the (new) postponement of the return to competition of Paul Pogba, victim of a muscle relapse. It must be said that the French international, who returned to Piedmont last summer after the end of his contract with Manchester United, has not played a single minute in an official meeting with the Bianconeri since the start of the 2022 financial year. -2023…
A disputed operation
The Sports Gazette criticizes Paul Pogba for having favored the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with the Blues over the deadlines of the Turin club. To better understand this point of tension, a little backtracking is necessary. Upon his return to Juventus Turin in July 2022, the midfielder, previously injured in the calf, injured his meniscus. He made the choice not to have surgery, probably to avoid missing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Finally, a month and a half later, the 29-year-old made the decision to go on the operating table. “Pogba was thinking of himself, of saving the World Cup, not of Juve who had already started paying almost a million a month into his account“, accuses the Italian sports daily in an editorial.
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If he had had surgery in the summer, the 2018 world champion could possibly have been available with Juventus Turin at the end of 2022. But nothing is certain. As proof, after his knee operation, he slammed his thigh…before relapsing recently. The fact remains that his choice is strongly criticized on the other side of the Alps. And in particular because it is one of the highest salaries of the Old Lady. “It is also worth asking – who knows if anyone at the club is doing this – how it is possible that Juventus is paying the full salary of a player who decided to postpone surgery without assessing what the risk would be for the interests of his clubasks the Gazzetta dello Sport.
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« Paul may be in optimal condition in two or three months. »
Massimiliano Allegri
The annoyance of Juventus Turin is also palpable in the words of Massimiliano Allegri. While the Bianconeri are going through an extremely difficult period in sporting terms – they have been penalized with 15 penalty points in the league – the Italian coach would like to be able to take advantage of the services of a player of the caliber of Paul Pogba: “Pogba will not be there tomorrow (to face Lazio Rome this Thursday, editor’s note) due to flexor pain. These are things that happen after such a long shutdown. It’s hard to start a car that has been standing still for a long time. Pogba’s problems stem from the fact that the engine needs to be reset. Paul may be in optimal condition in two or three months“, he explained. Before adding, visibly tired:I’m waiting for input from a player who has only played 45 minutes with Juve since April and then stopped. You have to navigate on sight in these situations, knowing that by the end you will have to make the most of the moments when he is well.Will Paul Pogba wear the Turin shirt this season?
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