Paul Pogba: Manchester United superstar blames Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for obsession with goalscoring midfielders.
Manchester United had an underwhelming season as they are about to finish 6th in the Premier league. Hence, Paul Pogba has been a subject of massive criticism because of Manchester United’s lack of challenge in the league.
Despite the Red Devils underwhelming points-table position in the Premier league, Pogba has been brilliant in terms of goal-scoring. The French International has amassed 13 goals in the league this season-the joint best-tally of any midfielder in the competition alongside Everton’s Gylfi Sigurdsson.
The 26-year-old played has shown no interest in dealing with the criticisms he receive, but mentioned the reason behind such harsh behaviour by fans.
In a interview with ICON magazine, per as, Pogba mentioned that extraordinary performances by Messi and Ronaldo have led fans to demand unrealistic goal-scoring rates by other players and have faced the same burden.
“Football has changed a lot. I grew up watching the exploits of great champions, real legends like (Alessandro) Del Piero, (Luis) Figo, (Francesco) Totti and many others. All have been champions, the best in the world, but perhaps many of them did not achieve more than 20 goals per season.
“Now the data, the statistics, the numbers, often seem to have become the only parameter of judgment.
“That, on the one hand, is good, it is part of the evolution of modern football and the desire to play the ball more and more. But we often tend to forget how difficult it has always been to score more than 20 goals, even for the big players.
“And today perhaps even more so, because the distance between the teams of high level has been reduced, especially in big competitions.”
“You have to remember that someone like Pavel Nedved won the Ballon d’Or without his team winning the Champions League or without having scored much himself. He was simply the best in his role and was rewarded for what he was capable of doing on the field.”
The French midfielder raises an important argument here that fans have stopped looking at the game-style and influence a player brings in the game and rather give attention to the statistics.
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Manchester United will face already relegated Cardiff City on Sunday in their final game in Premier league this season.
Also read: Ander Herrera: Why Ander Herrera is leaving Manchester United | Man Utd news
