Paul Pogba left Manchester United in July 2012, going on to sign for Juventus as a free agent and enjoying success with the Turin club.
Sir Alex Ferguson was unhappy with how agent Mino Raiola had conducted himself over the transfer and has spoken about it on more than one occasion. He felt Raiola was just looking for money and didn’t care too much about anything else.
Antonio Cassano, who retired from football in 2017, is now a regular pundit in the Italian media. He’s spoken repeatedly about Pogba, calling the Manchester United player overrated and recently insisting that he’s paid too much in relation to what he actually does on the pitch.
Speaking to Bobo TV, with his comments picked up by Il Bianconero, Cassano has given some insight into how Raiola managed Pogba during the midfielder’s first spell at Old Trafford.
According to Cassano, the agent had originally been looking for a bumper renewal for his client: “I know that when he still had to debut with Manchester United, Mino Raiola went to Ferguson asking him for a lot of money to get him to sign the contract. Ferguson asked the agent if he knew what kind of player Pogba was, and Raiola replied by saying no. He cared little, those were their requests and if they were not met they would go away. Without batting an eye, Ferguson ruled that Pogba could also go away.”
Raiola got the money he wanted, but from Juventus, and would later cash-in a record amount when Pogba returned to Manchester United.
