Abhishek Mookherjee

‘Not fit enough to play but well enough to ski’: Outrage over Christmas Instagram post from Paul Pogba

Juventus, Manchester United, Paul Pogba, Serie A

Paul Pogba has had a difficult year, that involved a break-up with the Red Devils, a fallout with former United Coach, Jose Mourinho and a career-wrecking injury to his knee that has kept him out of the football pitch for almost 200 days now.

It seemed for a while that the Frenchman was on his way out of the rabbit hole with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer instilling some faith in his tactical ability at Old Trafford.

But after suffering another injury, he finally parted ways with Manchester United and made a move to his former Serie A side, Juventus, with Juve fans pleased with the return of a 4-time Serie A and 2-time Coppa Italia champion.

Now, Pogba has not really been a starting player for Juventus after moving to the Serie A in July 2022 despite racking up heavy wages from the club and it seems that fans are now beginning to run out of patience for the 29-year-old Frenchman.

Paul Pogba took to Instagram on Christmas Day to share an image that shows him taking a ski trip despite being unfit to start for Juventus and given his teammate Federico Chiesa‘s resolve to recover and return to training after a devastating ACL injury, fans are not too happy with Pogba’s lackadaisical attitude towards the club.

In fact, Serie A star Paulo Dybala also went to great lengths to nurse a thigh injury that almost ruled him out of the Argentinian World Cup squad and actually went on to play and plaster his name on the finals’ scoresheet that ultimately contributed to Argentina’s penalty-shootout victory.

With this for context, Juve fans are unhappy about Pogba’s ski adventure at a time when he should ideally be doing his best to recover and perform for Juventus.

While one fan did not mince words, “Not fit enough to play but well enough to ski. An absolute waste of space! Taking the absolute piss!”, another fan expressed his outrage about Pogba’s absolute lack of commitment to his recovery in light of Chiesa’s dedication towards the club.

https://twitter.com/SalvatoreBisco4/status/1607045398153265152

Even Manchester United fans expressed relief about the Frenchman not being a player for United anymore, to which Juventus fans responded by saying that they would be more than happy to send him back to Old Trafford for free.

Unfortunately for Paul Pogba, his career does seem to be in jeopardy.

Historically, it is almost impossible for pro players to remain a desirable commodity after sitting on the sidelines, riddled with injuries, for the better part of a year, all the while, angering fans and club management for being a sinkhole for club money.

However, Paul Pogba is unlikely to face the brunt of his errors until his contract expires in 2026 because for the next 3 years, the midfielder will continue to bring in EUR 8 million in fixed wages with a bonus value of EUR 2 million, regardless of his absence on the pitch and skiing vacations and it will be difficult for the Frenchman to find favour with Juventus’ boss, Max Allegri that is hoping to drag Juventus back to the top of the table.