New Manchester United signing Paul Pogba says he will become both a better player and person under manager Jose Mourinho. The 23-year-old has completed a return to Old Trafford for a reported world-record fee that could reach £93million, having signed a five-year deal.
Pogba is the fourth signing made by Mourinho since he replaced Louis van Gaal as manager in May, following the arrivals of Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. And the France international admits that speaking with the former Inter and Real Madrid boss played a key part in his decision to rejoin the club from Juventus.
“I spoke with a lot of players when he was at Madrid, I spoke with Alvaro Morata, with Raphael Varane. They all told me he’s the coach for me, he’ll make me improve a lot, he makes you work harder,” he told MUTV.
“I spoke with him a few times and he gave me energy, positivity. I was thinking ‘why not’. I’m sure he can make me improve, make me a better player and a better person.”
Pogba, who left United in 2012, has now set his sights on claiming a first Premier League title as soon as possible, having won four successive Serie A crowns with Juve. The midfielder also hopes to win the Champions League and secure a Ballon d’Or victory during his Old Trafford career.
“Win the league for the first time, the Champions League, of course,” he said when asked what his ambitions were. “Personally, one of my dreams is to win the Ballon d’Or. Hopefully it will come but first I have to win the Premier League.”
Lastly, the former Le Havre youngster was keen to stress to United fans that he has come a long way from the prodigious but occasionally volatile talent who first joined the club as a 16-year-old in 2009.
“I’m back. I can’t wait to make them happy, to show them that I’m still Paul Pogba but in a different way,” he said. “I want to show them I didn’t come here to joke. I’m here to make them happy.”