Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is of the opinion that Paul Pogba is the best midfielder in the world and can win the Ballon d'Or in the future.
Pogba was in the United academy but went to the Serie A to play for Juventus in 2012. He was signed from Juventus in the summer for a world record fee of £89 million. The Frenchman had an underwhelming start at Old Trafford as he struggled to adapt to the pace and power of the Premier League. However, he has started to find his feet recently, which has led to United registering four successive league wins.
Pogba has scored five goals in 24 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils. Three of those have come in the league, along with three assists. Mourinho, however, insists that the world is yet to see the best of the Frenchman, stating that he will get better next season. The Portuguese is even backing him to win the Ballon d'Or.
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"People have to change the way they look at the Ballon d'Or. At the moment, it is almost as if you cannot win it if you are not a goalscorer," Mourinho told SFR Sport. “It was a miracle that [Franz] Beckenbauer, [Fabio] Cannavaro or even a midfielder like [Luis] Figo won it. Because now it seems impossible to win if you are not a goalscorer."
"If that perception changes, Paul can win the Ballon d'Or. Paul is a midfielder, not a goalscorer. But he will score more and more goals, because he has the characteristics to score goals. But he is a midfielder, and in my opinion the best midfielder in the world. He is obviously young, needs to improve and wants to improve, which is even better,” Mourinho added.
The Manchester United boss continued, "He has an agent [Mino Raiola] who is great for him. He is not a typical agent who puts the player on the moon. He demands a lot from Paul and wants him to get better all the time. So everything around him is there to become a great player.
“The Premier League is a very difficult league. He was in Serie A before, where he played four years. The Premier League is completely different, but he is doing well, more than well. His evolution is clear. I can imagine next year for Paul is going to be top," he concluded.
United have reached the round of 32 in the Europa League and are through to the semi-finals of the League Cup. They next face Middlesbrough on the 31st of December as they look to close the gap on the leading pack.
