'Ronaldinho said I can win Ballon d'Or without a doubt - but at Man Utd I had no chance'

A former Manchester United ace was tipped to win the Ballon d'Or by Ronaldinho, but had no chance of doing so while at Old Trafford. The player began his career in his native France and was picked up by the Red Devils as a youngster. He spent three years in their academy system before refusing a new contract and signing for Juventus in 2012.

The midfielder excelled in Italy, winning four league titles and four domestic trophies. He emerged as a regular for France and played in the Champions League final in 2015. A high-profile return to United came about the following year and he stayed until 2022, when he departed for a second spell at Juventus.

He only made a handful of appearances for the Old Lady before he was released after being banned from football over a positive doping test. It was later reduced on appeal and the Frenchman is now attempting to rebuild his career at Monaco.

The player in question is of course Paul Pogba, who was backed to claim the Ballon d'Or by none other than Brazilian legend Ronaldinho.

Speaking to French media in 2018, he said: "He [Pogba] can win the Ballon d'Or, without a doubt. I see Pogba as a friend, I don't see myself as his idol.

"He is young, talented and he has the ability to play anywhere. He can play in a free role, defensive, as a runner or attacking. He has the characteristics of a player who can fill any position. He can make history."

Unfortunately for Pogba, he never achieved his goal of winning the Ballon d'Or and had no chance of doing so while at United.

He was regularly criticised for his lacklustre displays, accused of laziness and suspected of having a poor attitude. The midfielder also came under fire as a result of his social media presence, often posting dance videos with his team-mates.

Bryan Robson, who managed United before Sir Alex Ferguson was appointed, recently claimed that Pogba failed at United because he 'forgot about football'.

"For me, after a few years of real success at United, he and a few of the other lads got caught up with all the social media and forgot about football and how hard you've got to work," Robson told OLBG.

"What they forgot was that they were getting all the money because they were great players and then they dipped off because it was all about clothes and image and dancing in the dressing room.

"I don't think there would have been dancing in the dressing room if I'd been captain at that time!"

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