Graeme Souness FINALLY reveals why he was so critical of Pogba at Man United

Graeme Souness has admitted that his frustration with the wasted potential of Paul Pogba led him to be so critical of the former Manchester United midfielder during his six-year stay at Old Trafford.

The 30-year-old drew the ire of many pundits in an inconsistent spell following his arrival from Juventus for a then-world record fee in 2016. But none more so than ex-Liverpool midfielder Souness, who was particularly harsh in his assessments.

Souness compared Pogba's style of play to a 'schoolboy running around in the playground' in 2018 before labelling him as a selfish player later than year. In 2023 he went as far as to call the French star 'a lazy t**t'.

The 70-year-old has finally conceded that he grew increasingly annoyed with the production of the player he believes had the technical and physical attributes to be a 'superstar'.

'He had the equipment to be the best midfielder in the world.' Souness told talkSPORT. I saw a young man that was going through the motions a lot of the time, and that frustrated me.

'With that physique and that technical ability, he just did not have the right attitude to make him a superstar.'

Pogba is currently sweating over his future in the game as he faces the potential of a four year ban for failing a drug test. He has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned substance DHEA following his side's win against Udinese on August 20.

Pogba's B-sample also came back positive for the substance which naturally boosts testosterone production, and he is now waiting to find out the sanction that will be handed down.

According to Juventus correspondent Romeo Agresti, prosecutors have called for Pogba to be banned for four years, the mandatory ban under world anti-doping rules.

Should they get their wish, this would rule Pogba out of action until he is 34, and it could prove to be the end of his career given his fitness issues since moving back to Italy.

While at Old Trafford, Pogba won the League Cup and Europa League in his first season under the management of Jose Mourinho.

His career highlight undoubtedly came the following summer when he starred for a France as they claimed the nation's second World Cup in Russia.

Despite his glittering display, that was capped off with a stunning goal in the final, Souness believes that it was disastrous for his his career.

'The worst thing that happened to him was winning a World Cup,' he added. 'Because he could turn and say, "I am a World Cup winner". I think at that point, it was him going backwards.'