'I didn't see the club going upwards' - Paul Pogba admits he was desperate to leave Man Utd three years before eventual departure, but exit was blocked

After initially leaving United to join Juventus in 2012, Pogba returned to the Premier League team four years later, but his second spell at Old Trafford was hampered by injuries and talk of a possible move to Real Madrid, before he returned to Juve in 2022.

Pogba wanted out of Old Trafford three years earlier, though, after he ended the 2018-19 season with 16 goals from 47 games in all competitions. United had sacked Jose Mourinho in the middle of the campaign and hired Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was open to letting Pogba go, but United's executive vice-chairman at the time, Ed Woodward, would not sanction a move.

"The year Jose went and Ole came, it was my best season at United but after the last game I told Ole and Ed Woodward that I thought it was my last year and that I wanted to leave," he told The Daily Mail. "I was 27 back then, it didn’t work out the way I wanted. I gave my best but I didn’t see the club going upwards. Manchester City and Liverpool were better than us and they were improving.

"Ole said yes [to me leaving] and that he would talk to Ed. My head was already that I wanted to go but I came back for pre-season because I wanted to be professional. I spoke to Ed to try to make a move but he blocked it. I didn’t want to play for United anymore but I had to be professional. Mentally I wasn’t there and then I got the injuries."

When Pogba returned to Juve, he was plagued by injury worries and then subsequently banned for four years after testing positive for a banned substance. The France international is gearing up for his return to football, though, after the suspension was reduced to 18 months, freeing him up to start playing again in March next year.