Top 10 Manchester United signings of the decade

3. Paul Pogba

Few players have caused such contrasting emotions among fans like Paul Pogba. The prodigal son’s return to Old Trafford from Turin at the start of Jose Mourinho’s era, for a then world-record fee of £89m sparkled debates among the United faithful. By then, Pogba had established himself as one of the most talented midfielders in the world and his arrival was expected to kick-start United’s return to the top.

Unfortunately, the Frenchman failed to have the desired effect on the team. While he was exceptional at times during his debut season, Pogba’s tendency to blow hot and cold hurt United on the run. By the end of Jose Mourinho’s tenure, there were rumours of a fallout between player and manager. However, Solskjaer’s appointment lent him a new lease of life and the Frenchman showed the world that he still was a cut above the rest at Old Trafford.

The former Juventus midfielder’s vision and passing range are second to none, while last season, Pogba even managed to add a spectacular goalscoring edge to his game. The Frenchman ended the 2018/19 season with 16 goals from 47 games, which is the most successful return of his playing career.

This year, injuries have restricted him to just 8 appearances so far, while rumours of an impending move away from Old Trafford have the fans sceptical once again. However, there’s still no denying his quality on the pitch. When Pogba gets on the ball with a little bit of space and time in the middle of the park, you can almost feel the sparkle in the eyes of Marcus Rashford and co. Because the Frenchman still has the ability to turn a game around in a split second and for that, he remains the 3rd best Manchester United transfer in the last decade.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over seven years at Sportskeeda. He has written more than 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 20 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Sai Teja