How Paul Pogba struggles and Manchester United's downfall are intertwined

"And on the pedestal, these words appear: 'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings; Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay. Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare. The lone and level sands stretch far away."

That is an excerpt from the poem Ozymandias by Percy Shelley (the inspiration for the title of the second-best episode of Breaking Bad). It tells the story of an ancient Egyptian Pharoah who created a dynasty that he thought would never collapse but over time, it crumbled and fell away into history.

When thinking about Manchester United I often come back to it. If you asked me or any other fan back in Sir Alex Ferguson's reign whether the good times would ever end, they'd probably laugh at you and say how could it ever happen; at most, it would just be a few average years and then United would sort themselves out.

READ MORE:Paul Pogba may have inadvertently taught Manchester United and Erik ten Hag a key lesson

Reality, however, is often disappointing; United have now not won a trophy in five years and the title has eluded them for almost a decade. They have been through five managers with a sixth on the way and this season they will finish on their worst points total of the Premier League era, while Manchester City are chasing their fourth title in five years and Liverpool, a historic quadruple.

But this situation is just par for the course now; what made me return to this poem this time was the situation of Paul Pogba. Almost a decade ago, on July 1st 2012, the 19-year-old United midfielder joined Italian side Juventus on a free transfer.

Though incredibly talented, the young Frenchman's wage and first-team football demands were seen as unrealistic by Ferguson and he