Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira feels Paul Pogba is a fantastic player, but in his quest for the Ballon d'Or, he should only do what he does best without trying to emulate Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.
Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United on a world record transfer and impressed in his first full start against Southampton. However, Vieira has warned his compatriot of getting ahead of himself, which would also not bode well with the presence of strong characters in their line-up.
Viera praises Pogba
"I'm a massive fan of Pogba," Vieira, who now coaches New York City FC in MLS, told the Mirror, "I think he's a fantastic player, no doubt about it. But at the same time I believe the Premier League is different, and there will be a lot of pressure on his shoulders because of the price tag and expectation.”
Paul Pogba has already expressed his desire to win the most coveted individual honour, Ballon d’Or. With manager Jose Mourinho’s motivating statement which predicts Pogba to meet Ronaldo and Messi’s standards, Vieira further warned the 23-year-old of attempting to dethrone icons of the modern game by trying to replicate their success.
"He will have to find the right balance because if he thinks he will win games by himself that will be a massive mistake for him. If he tries to do something that he can't do that will be a massive mistake as well.”
Also Read: Paul Pogba says he has huge respect for former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
”I read something interesting from [United manager Jose] Mourinho that he will win as much as Messi or Ronaldo. If people are expecting him to score 40 goals a season, that will not be the case, but he can make a difference with his physical and technical ability.”
Vieira also believes that Paul Pogba can add more to his game by playing with top-class players at the club. Jose Mourinho completed the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan which brings great hope to the United faithful.
Pogba can get better
Vieira added, "There are some good players around, strong characters around him, who can help him to perform at his best," he further said, "Ibrahimovic, the way I know him, will be a really good person to help him to find the way and perform the way he can.”
“He will have no choice any way but to listen to him. He will help him because he's a fantastic teammate."
Viera, the former Arsenal legend, finished his career with cross-town rivals Manchester City and played under the current United manager for two years at Inter Milan.
