Ralph Rangnick has confirmed that Manchester United midfielder, Paul Pogba, has likely played his last game with the club and will almost certainly depart this summer, per Fabrizio Romano.
When asked recently about Pogba’s availability for the end of the season, after the Frenchman limped off the pitch during United’s defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, Rangnick responded;
“He [Pogba] won’t be available for the game tomorrow and most likely not for the other four upcoming games. And as it seems right now, he will not renew his contract. It’s most likely that he won’t be here anymore next season.”
This will likely receive a mixed reception from Manchester United fans, some in mourning over the departure of an unresolved, dormant talent, while others, some of whom have even booed the player in recent weeks, may take some positives from Pogba’s departure – a player often devoid of consistency (in both fitness and performance) yet consistently one of the club’s top earners.
Rangnick somewhat made light of the news, likening Manchester United’s squad overhaul project to complex surgery. “In medicine, you would say that this is an operation of the open heart. This is also something that not just one single person as a manager can do. In all areas, you have to have top people and they have to work together in a very close and very reliable way”, said Rangnick.
Pogba will be the first of many departures this summer as he leaves as a free agent – most likely in the direction of Madrid or Paris. If Anfield was to be Pogba’s last dance for United, his cameo may have perfectly encapsulated a large proportion of his Manchester United career – short-lived optimism before inevitable disappointment as fans are left longing for more.