The internet loves to ham things up, doesn’t it?
Paul Pogba knows this as well as anyone. Only a few months ago, he was the greatest midfielder on Planet Earth and by far and away the biggest mistake of Sir Alex Ferguson’s life.
Now though, having failed to hit top form in his first few appearances since a world record transfer back to Manchester United, he’s massively overrated and nothing more than a poor man’s Joe Allen.
Back with the French team ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria on Fridat night and the Netherlands next week, reports on Thursday afternoon told us all about how Pogba had utterly ‘destroyed’ countryman Dimirti Payet during a French training session.
‘Destroyed’ him, eh? What could this possibly mean? At best, he’d made West Ham’s star man look a right dick with a flamboyant overhead rabona nutmeg… while blindfolded. At worst, he’d *literally* destroyed him, which doesn’t even bear thinking about.
As it turns out, Payet hadn’t been destroyed in either of these senses and this was just another example of internet exaggeration.
As is often the case whenever Pogba’s on international duty, a short clip of him showing off some of his skills made it on to Twitter. During part of it, Payet can be seen closing down the 23-year-old by the touchline. Short of space, Pogba drags the ball back with his right foot and back heels the ball around Payet. It’s a lovely piece of skill, but not quite enough to make Payet think about early retirement. We don’t even get to see if Pogba keeps possession for crying out loud.
Still, here’s a clip of Pogba doing a bit of skill while Dimitri Payet stands nearby.
https://twitter.com/MUnitedHome/status/784045352974426112