Zlatan Ibrahimovic has come out fighting in support of former Manchester United team-mate Paul Pogba, in an exclusive interview with FourFourTwo.
The pair spent the 2016/17 season together following the Frenchman’s £89 million return to Old Trafford from Juventus, during which they won the League Cup and Europa League.
Pogba also added the World Cup to his decorated CV in the summer, scoring in the final as France won the trophy for a second time, 20 years after the first on home soil.
However, the midfielder continues to face criticism from pundits over a perceived lack of discipline and leadership skills, coupled with his prominence on social media.
He can at least count on the backing of Zlatan, though, who has told FFT that Pogba has become a scapegoat for everyone’s problems, and that he feels some former players’ gripes about the 25-year-old have become personal.
Speaking exclusively in the December 2018 issue, in shops and on iPad from Wednesday, the cover star says: “I think the thing with Pogba has become an issue that’s a little bit ridiculous.
“Everybody hangs up on Pogba. Somebody goes through a red light – it’s Pogba’s fault. You get a puncture on a tyre – it’s Pogba’s fault. Something goes wrong – it’s Pogba’s fault. All these people talk: I think they just want attention, so they talk. They expect miracles every second.
“They have to relax. They have to look at themselves, especially the ex-players, and ask themselves, ‘What did I do when I played?’ Because they were not much better – I played against them. Some were good; some were less good. Excuse my words, but they should all shut up and mind their own business. They get paid to talk, they get paid to get attention, but you have to talk with facts.
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“When it comes to Paul, I think it feels personal. They have to be careful, because when it becomes personal, it’s not professional. They’re two different things. When you get paid to do work, you have to be professional, not personal. You leave personal things at home.”
Read the full interview with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the December 2018 issue of FourFourTwo, in which we also meet Bayer Leverkusen starlet Leon Bailey in a field full of cows, chat to Manchester United midfielder Fred, and go One-on-One with Jermaine Pennant. Plus, we remember when British bosses ruled La Liga, learn everything there is to know about commentating, and hear how fighting in the Rhodesian Bush War helped Bruce Grobbelaar stand up to King Kenny. Order a copy, then subscribe!
Joe was the Deputy Editor at FourFourTwo until 2022, having risen through the FFT academy and been on the brand since 2013 in various capacities.
By weekend and frustrating midweek night he is a Leicester City fan, and in 2020 co-wrote the autobiography of former Foxes winger Matt Piper – subsequently listed for both the Telegraph and William Hill Sports Book of the Year awards.
