Player reveals he snubbed transfer approach from major Man United rival when he left Old Trafford

Paul Pogba rejected Pep Guardiola (Photos by Dan Mullan, Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has revealed that he turned down the chance to join bitter rivals Manchester City when it came to leaving Old Trafford.

The France international, now with Juventus in a second spell after joining from Man Utd back in the summer of 2022, has given a series of wide-ranging interviews in the last couple of days as he’s set to return early from a drugs ban.

It seems Pogba’s Juventus future is in some doubt, but he’s spoken publicly about being keen to stay with the Serie A giants, and it seems he’s perhaps attempting to show his loyalty to them by revealing that he rejected an approach from Pep Guardiola at Man City when he came to the end of his United contract.

Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Pogba confirmed those stories about interest from City were true, and it would be interesting to hear what United fans make of it all.

Paul Pogba in action for Juventus (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Paul Pogba showed his loyalty to Manchester United

It’s fair to say Pogba wasn’t exactly Mr Popular towards the end of his time with the Red Devils, but it seems clear he still cared enough about the club that he didn’t want to be seen as betraying them by moving across the city to play for one of their biggest rivals.

It would have been interesting to see Pogba in a City shirt, as he surely would have benefited from being in a better team than he was at United, but it’s perhaps also fair to say it’s not too surprising that he didn’t choose to extend his stay in the Premier League after six difficult years in England.