Graeme Souness has responded to a jibe from Paul Pogba by telling the Manchester United starvto “put your medals on the table”.
Former Liverpool captain Souness has always been an outspoken critic of the Frenchman for a perceived inability to make the most of his talent.
The ex-Scotland international said in the Sunday Times that Pogba would be “an absolute doddle to play against” because his attitude is always to be “the star of the show”.
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Last month, Souness used Everton player Andre Gomes’ return from a serious injury to question whether Pogba had worked hard enough to recover fitness after his own ankle operation.
Speaking to the UTD Podcast about his critics, Paul Pogba said of Souness: “I didn’t know who he was, really. I heard he was a great player. I don’t stay and listen to what they’re going to say after a game, and why they’ve done this.”
In response, Souness said on Tuesday: “I’m happy with that. The oldest saying in football comes to mind: Put your medals on the table.”
Souness enjoyed a successful career, winning five league titles and three European Cups with Liverpool among a couple of other trophies, while Pogba’s second spell with the Red devils has been comparatively lean.
However, the France international won the World Cup in 2018 and claimed eight trophies with Italian side Juventus, including four Serie A titles, before winning the EFL Cup and Europa League with his current team in 2016-17.
Speaking about critics in general, Pogba said: “I guess they miss me, When I watch a game, I like to watch a game, not the comments. When you’re a fan and when you know football, you don’t need someone to tell you what’s happening.
“When I hear people putting my name out, ‘Paul is doing this, Paul, Paul’… I really want to know why. During my recovery I can be somewhere else, but I’m just doing my recovery and I hear my name again.
“If you score one goal or you scored a hat-trick, you know you played a good game, or sometimes you can score a hat-trick and play a bad game, and you know yourself.
“When you’re really a football fan, you know yourself if you played well or you didn’t play well, and you don’t need someone else to tell you.
SOUNESS’ PREVIOUS DIGS AT POGBA
February 2018 – Souness compares Pogba’s style to a ‘schoolboy running around in the playground’
October 2018 – Souness blasts Pogba after mistake against Chelsea and says he needs to change his attitude
August 2019 – Souness thinks players in the Manchester United dressing room don’t want Pogba there
March 2020 – Souness slams Pogba’s lengthy absence through injury and claims the midfielder doesn’t want to play for Manchester United
