When your younger brother’s transfer fee breaks world records, it would make it tough for the two older ones. But still, the most impressive fact is that despite how hard it is to be professional footballers at the top level, all three are still playing football. While Paul Pogba plays for Manchester United as a central midfielder, his brother Mathias plays for Sparta Rotterdam and Florentin plays as a centre back for Saint-Etienne.
With Manchester United meeting Saint-Etienne in the Europa League round of 32, the French club will play the first of two legs at Old Trafford, it’s bound to be a brother vs brother fight. But while everyone knows all about Paul Pogba and his impressive £89 million transfer record, his brother has taken a very different route to the top, having cost Saint-Etienne just £ 400,000.
And while most fans know the younger Pogba’s story from the Le Harve academy to Manchester United, Florentin’s story is not well known.
Here are a few facts about Paul Pogba’s older brother.
#1 Youth career
Florentin’s career started at Spanish side Celta Vigo, which is where he crossed paths with former Stoke City striker Joselu and also Valencia striker Rodrigo. But with first team opportunities being hard to come by, he moved back to France, signing for Sedan in the second tier of French football.
He made his first appearance for the club in November 2010 before making his league debut three months later in a 1-0 league defeat against US Boulogne under the manager Landry Chauvin.
Sedan’s squad made it easy for Florentin to make his debut with the club mainly consisting of journeyman French footballers, aside from Benoit Costil. However, when Laurent Guyot, the current academy director at Toronto FC, took over as the coach in 2011, Pogba became a star of the team. He was moved to the centre of defence and shone as one of the most respected defenders in Ligue 2.
#2 His potential table tennis career
While Paul Pogba may have the upper hand during the Europa League match against brother Florentin, he would be no match for his older brother’s skills in table tennis. Florentin, two and a half years older than the Manchester United man, could have had a magnificent career in another sport.
With his twin brother Mathias, he joined a table tennis club as a young boy in Paris and went to become the local champion.
Mathias on the other hand, was even more prolific – he won the French title in his age group. While his footballing career cannot be compared to the levels at which his younger brother has reached, Florentin’s table tennis career could have been as good, if not better.
#3 He chose to play for Guinea
While Paul Pogba opted to play his international career with France, both his older brothers opted to play for Guinea. Guinea was the country where his parents immigrated from when they moved to France. Brothers Florentin and Mathias both play for their parent’s home country, but while Pogba doesn’t, his mother hasn’t let him forget about his roots.
Footballer has deep roots in the Pogba family, and it was inherited from their father according to the brothers. “Our father played football as well. He’s the one who encouraged us to get involved in the sport,” said Florentin in an interview.
“Ever since I was a boy, I dreamed of playing for Guinea.” He further added, “I’m not the oldest player on the team, but the current coach has given me the vote of confidence. He told me that I was one of the team’s driving forces, right now and for the future, and that’s why he made me captain.”
#4 He’s better than his brother in six areas on FIFA 17
Paul who has accomplished more in football but when you take a look at their stats in FIFA 17, but there are actually six areas in which Florentin betters his younger brother. But it could be argued that the six attributes in which Florentin is better than Pogba are actually directly related to him being a centre back, which is completely fair.
However, on the hand, Paul is much better than his older brother in other neutral categories such as acceleration, reactions, and sprint speed.
Defending: Florentin 77, Paul 72
Aggression: Florentin 82, Paul 72
Interceptions: Florentin 77, Paul 70
Standing tackle: Florentin 79, Paul 74
Marking: Florentin 76, Paul 68
Heading: Florentin 73, Paul 72
#5 He wants all three brothers to play in the same team, someday
During an interview, Florentin Pogba stated that he would like to play alongside his brothers in a professional football game. Among the three, Paul is easily the most popular one, both with the fans, but his brothers have managed to forge successful careers, especially at a stage when it’s so tough to get noticed by top teams such as St. Etienne and Sparta Rotterdam.
He said in the interview, “We used to play every day and hope that one day all three of us would play together in a professional match. That was the biggest dream. We haven't managed it yet but having two of us together on the pitch is already good.”
Florentin will be squaring off against his younger brother and has promised not to take it easy on him. He said in an interview, “we're both determined players," said the Guinea international defender. "Him and me. If he's on a run, and I have to tackle him, I'll tackle him. I'm not going to knock him out. But if I have to foul him, I'll do it,” said the older Pogba.
