The Pogmentary: moral outrage and the voices in footballers’ ears

Hello reader. It’s scorching outside and we don’t do well in the heat – it scrambles our brain and plays havoc with our decision-making. The last time it was this hot we went to buy milk and ended up asleep on a pedalo in Grimsby. So we’ve decided to spend our time indoors watching TV instead. There’s a new documentary out about Paul Pogba, you see. It’s called the Pogmentary. Yes, really. Some Amazon Prime creatives came up with that. Perhaps the heat got to them, too. Anyway, the Pogmentary has created other headlines because in one scene with his late Mr 20%, Mino Raiola, the France midfielder describes a £300,000-per-week contract offer from Manchester United as “nothing”. It’s not gone down well with United fans and The Fiver would pay good money to see Graeme Souness’s reaction to it. His moral outrage probably caused the buttons on his fitted shirt to pop off and land in his Martini.

Obviously, £300,000 a week is not “nothing”. People have sounded off about his dismissive comment being disgraceful during a cost-of-living crisis, but the last time The Fiver looked, Pogba wasn’t residing in 10 Downing Street, which is a shame as even though his form is patchy, he could probably do a much better job than the man who is. He seems a lot kinder for a start. In one scene he is shown walking around Manchester at night chatting with homeless people and giving them food. He also seems like a good dad and, unlike Boris Johnson, appears to know how many kids he has and engages with them in a playful and loving way.

What Pogba’s reaction to the offer does show is how much footballers seem to be influenced by the people around them. Pogba has had a lawyer since he was barely out of school and both she and Raiola may not have