Manchester United must begin ruthless new era with Paul Pogba

There was a moment, in the aftermath of Manchester United's embarrassing season-ending 2-0 defeat to Cardiff City in May 2019, when a group of supporters let their feelings known to Paul Pogba.

Match-going United fans nearly always keep their counsel about players, even in the most dire circumstances, but after watching their side lose to Neil Warnock's already-relegated Bluebirds, a group in the Stretford End gave Pogba a torrent of abuse. The Frenchman was among a group of United players doing a 'victory lap' — that in itself was probably inadvisable after a trophyless season in which they finished sixth — when he was targeted.

As the MEN wrote at the time: "Clips on social media showed a small section of supporters specifically criticising the 26-year-old and indicating that they no longer wanted him at the club. Pogba stood topless looking back at the frustrated supporters and appeared to gesture an apology to the stand before making his way down the tunnel."

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A few weeks later Pogba was quoted, while on an Adidas tour of the Far East, as saying he fancied a "new challenge" and his United future appeared in serious jeopardy. At that stage, he had two years left on his United contract (the club later triggered an extra 12 months), Real Madrid were circling, with Pogba's idol Zinedine Zidane as manager, and United might even have raked in a profit for his services.

Despite the acrimony between Pogba and supporters, he was eminently sellable that summer. He'd enjoyed a strong 2018/19 season, scoring 16 goals — a career-best return — though he'd been central to Jose Mourinho's sacking, a time of huge upheaval at Old Trafford. There