Being benched for Manchester United’s 5-0 mauling by Liverpool could spell the end of Paul Pogba’s career at Old Trafford.
This is the view of former France footballer Frank Leboeuf, who believes the decision to leave Pogba out of the starting XI contributed to his red card in the second half.
Pogba was brought on at half time with Man United already 4-0 down but exited the pitch just 15 minutes later as he was sent off for a high challenge on Naby Keita.
The midfielder’s contract expires in June and there are plenty of reports linking him with a move to the likes of Real Madrid and Juventus.
And Leboeuf suggested the dangerous tackle could be one of his final acts as a Man United player.
“I don’t know what’s going on there [with Pogba],” Leboeuf told ESPN.
“Seeing that he didn’t start for the most important game of the season for Manchester United, it made me think that it could be the end of something for Paul Pogba.
“He must be very upset, he was frustrated which is maybe why he was red-carded. If Manchester United carry on like this, I think he’s going to go.”
The club is in disarray at the moment, despite possessing a number of world-class players in their ranks, including Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo had the chance to join Manchester City instead of Man United in the summer but Leboeuf believes the Portuguese is happy with the decision to come back to Old Trafford despite all the struggles.
“I think he has no regrets whatsoever, he’s a kid of Manchester United and he deeply didn’t want to go to Man City.
“But I don’t know, if he thought he could win the Champions League again, because that was his goal, and he could do that by signing for Manchester United…
“I think he has had bad [advice] from some people who tried to tell him that was a good idea. Clearly Man United are not ready to win the Champions League.”
Leboeuf also encouraged Man United to ‘move on’ from manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose future appears to hang by a thread.
“They really have to move on to something else, because otherwise it will be a disaster,” Leboeuf added.
“Because they sign fantastic players, we talk about Ronaldo and Raphael Varane, we all thought something different will happen, but they still have the same problem.
“They don’t have a project. Tactically compared to the others, there is no project. They count on the talent of the players, rather than the tactics.”