Pogba explains what he learned from Scholes & Pirlo as a youngster

Paul Pogba has opened up on how much he learned from playing alongside midfield greats Paul Scholes and Andrea Pirlo as a youngster.

The midfielder came through the ranks at Manchester United while Scholes was still in Sir Alex Ferguson's first team, before making a switch to Juventus in 2012 where he played alongside Italian great Pirlo.

The Frenchman cited a lack of first team football among the reasons for his United departure, with Scholes - who came out of retirement that season - among those ahead of him in the pecking order.

But Pogba has now told the UTD podcast how training with Scholes at Carrington motivated him to become a better player.

“You learn a lot and you look at them,” said Pogba. “I really learned and have been learning. It was unbelievable for me, seeing them training like that, and it pushed me.

“Okay, I have to work hard and have a lot more to do. Pirlo and Scholes, those are midfielders who control the game, the players to look at, and I learned from them, a lot.”

Scholes started as a United youngster in the early 1990s as a striker before dropping deeper into midfield as his career went on.

And Pogba admitted he did the same coming through the United academy - because he wanted to spend time on the ball. Debate still rages about which exact position in midfield is the best for the 27-year-old, but Pogba has certainly proven himself to be a top midfielder.

“I started as a striker and then a no.10 and then a no.6,” he added.

“Thank God, I didn't go to centre-back! It was because I wanted to touch the ball too much. I was the striker and dropping too much, so one coach told me: 'Okay, play the no.10 and touch the ball more'.

"I still loved the ball too much and had too many touches so he put me at no.6.”