Paul Pogba avoided a question about his former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho at his Juventus unveiling.
The Italian side re-signed France midfielder Pogba after his United contract expired this summer, ending his second stint at Old Trafford.
The 29-year-old worked under Mourinho at United and the duo had an extremely fractured relationship, with the Portuguese coach labelling Pogba a ‘virus’.
Pogba has since revealed that he suffered with depression after working with Mourinho, who stripped him of United’s vice-captaincy in 2018.
Mourinho is now in charge of Serie A club Roma, helping them win the UEFA Europa Conference League last campaign, and his side will face Pogba’s Juventus this season.
‘Roma are a great team, I don’t think about Mourinho,’ Pogba said. ‘As I said, I want to win whether it’s against Mourinho or [Filippo] Inzaghi. Winning is the only thing I want.’
Pogba’s United exit was controversial and he has taken several swipes at the club, with former United defender and pundit Gary Neville saying the situation had ‘left a bad taste in the mouth’.
Pogba re-signed for United in 2016 for a then-world record deal worth £89m and largely struggled – but wants to prove that they are making a ‘mistake’ in not extending his deal.
‘My thought process is to show Manchester [United] that they made a mistake in waiting to give me a contract,’ he said. ‘And to show other clubs that Manchester had made a mistake in not offering me a contract.’
Juventus’ season gets up and running on August 15, when they play Sassuolo in Serie A.
Pogba will be looking to help them rediscover their dominance in the Italian top-flight, with successive fourth-place finishes in the last two years.
He received a message from Juventus legend Giorgio Chiellini last week, who said: ‘[His return] will be so important. Paul is a fantastic player.
‘Inside he has the fire to show to all of us what a fantastic player he is. I expect so much from him.’
