Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba says that returning to the Bianconeri this summer was ‘a choice of the heart’. The French international returned to Turin on a free transfer after a torrid time in his personal life that saw him the victim of an extortion attempt that included his own brother.
Speaking to GQ Italia, Pogba talked about his time at Manchester United and also his reasons for coming back to Juventus:
“I like to think and say that it is my heart that made the choice. It was also perhaps the right time to return here. The last three years in Manchester, also affected by injuries, had not gone as I wanted, it’s no mystery. I thought that if we added to this the fact that Juve have also not won the title for two years, it was a great challenge for both of us.
And maybe it was the right time to meet again and try to take back the place we have, me and Juve, and above all to return to winning. I always want to play, and I want to give my best, and inside of me I know that this shirt is special, it brings out my best.
We built a good story with this team, which I never forgot even when I left Juve. Returning here is always a reason for me to push, to stimulate doing well. I never had a doubt that this was my place.
My first Juve experience? The first time here I was younger and didn’t have the experience I have now. I grew up in my personal life, I have two children, a wife, and also as a footballer. I won the World Cup with France, the Europa League with United, I played with great players and a great team.
I learned a lot there, it was totally different from my previous experience. I had to take more responsibility than I had, less here at Juve when I was young and had experienced players close to me. Now I look at myself and think I have become like these players, like Pirlo, as Buffon, as Chiellini, and now it’s up to me to do Juve what they did.
Allegri? I have always had a very strong relationship with the coach, beautiful, honest. He knows me and always pushed me when we were here together. Even when I was in Manchester we stayed in touch and talked a lot.
For me the Italian championship has always been one of the most difficult, playing football here has never been easy. Winning in Italy is always a prohibitive challenge, it is for everyone, and even more so for Juve from which the maximum is always expected.
In the Premier League at the moment there is unparalleled economic potential, there is more ease on the part of clubs to buy the players you want than in Italy. I think that’s the real difference. But if I have to stick to the football played, the Italian one has always been one of the best in the world for me, and it remains that, despite everything.”
