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| Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United are seen during the UEFA Champions League, round of 16, football match played between Atletico de Madrid and Manchester United on February 23, 2022, in Madrid, Spain. |
Paul Pogba landed in Turin on Friday ahead of the
France midfielder’s return as a free agent to Juventus, the Serie A club where
he made his name.
Juve announced his arrival in Italy on social media
in the early evening with a video of the 29-year-old exiting the airplane which
had brought him from Miami with the message “Incoming…”
The 29-year-old had all-but announced his comeback
on his personal accounts earlier on Friday when he posted a video filmed on the
airplane in which he said “see you soon” in Italian while wearing
clothes in Juve’s colours of black and white.
World Cup winner Pogba will undergo medical exams on
Saturday before signing a four-year deal which will earn him a reported eight
million euros ($8.12 million) a season plus a potential further two million
euros in bonuses.
He will rejoin Juve after his contract with
Manchester United expired at the end of last month, marking the end of a
largely disappointing six years in England.
Dysfunctional United are further away from the top
of English football than they were when he joined, having not won a Premier
League title in nine years.
The 2017 Europa League and the same season’s League
Cup is a poor haul for Pogba at one of the world’s biggest clubs, especially as
they both came under Jose Mourinho when he said he suffered from depression.
Pogba is expected to inherit the number 10 jersey
left vacant by Paulo Dybala, who could join Juve’s fiercest rivals Inter Milan
after the Argentina forward was let go by the Turin giants.
Pogba had worn that jersey in his final season at
Juve before joining United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of £89 million,
joining a list of iconic playmakers like Roberto Baggio, Alessandro del Piero,
Michele Platini and Liam Brady to wear the shirt.
He had moved to Juve from United four years
previously while still a teenager and made a huge impression in a slick
midfield featuring the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal.
Pogba blossomed under coach Massimiliano Allegri
when he replaced Antonio Conte in 2014, and drove a powerful team to the
following year’s Champions league final, losing to Barcelona.
He won the Serie A title in each of his four seasons
at the Old Lady of Italian football and retained affection for Juve, being
linked with a return to the club on several occasions during his time at
United.
Allegri will be hoping that Pogba can help Juve
return to their former glories after a tricky campaign left them fourth, some
16 points behind champions AC Milan.
Juve are also set to complete the signing of
Argentina winger Angel Di Maria after he was released by Paris Saint-Germain.
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