Published 18:28 IST, October 26th 2020
Did Pogba retire? Pogba quits France rumours circulate after president Macron's comments
Did Pogba retire? Rumours have been swirling regarding the Man United record signing's possible exit from the French national team this week.
Paul Pogba has never shied away from headlines. This week, those headlines have focused on his future with the French national team. While Pogba's career at Manchester United has seen him flirt with an exit every transfer window, his performances for the national team have been consistent and he was also a part of their 2018 World Cup-winning side. However, reports emerged on Monday suggesting that the 27-year-old had quit international football after some controversial remarks from France president Emmanuel Macron.
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Did Pogba retire? Pogba retirement rumours swirl after Macron Islam comments
A French teacher, Samuel Paty, was beheaded on October 16 after discussing caricatures of the Prophet with his students. Paty was killed by an 18-year-old Moscow-born Chechen refugee who was later shot dead by the French Police with two other students charged with complicity in the terrorist murder. President Emmanuel Macron had claimed the murder of Samuel Paty was 'an Islamist terror attack'.
Macron drew severe criticism for his comments, which suggested freeing France from "foreign control".
The Sun claimed that Pogba, a practising Muslim was offended by the French president's comments and had tendered his resignation in the Arabic sports website 195sports.com. However, no confirmation has been provided by France Football, Paul Pogba, his agent Mino Raiola or Manchester United on the same. Incidentally, it was Pogba who taught Emmanuel Macron to dab after he had visited the dressing room following France's World Cup final win over Croatia in 2018. The Manchester United star was one of the key players in Les Bleus' World Cup triumph, emulating Zinedine Zidane and co's triumph 20 years earlier in 1998.
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Paul Pogba quits France? Rumours swirl
The former Juventus star made his debut for Les Bleus in 2013 and featured in the 2014 World Cup, where he won the Young Player Award. He was part of the France side that bowed out to Portugal in the 2016 Euros, before lifting the World Cup two years later, where he scored against Croatia in the final. In all, the 27-year-old has made a total of 72 appearances for France, scoring 10 goals.
(Image Courtesy: Paul Pogba Instagram)
Updated 18:28 IST, October 26th 2020