PAUL POGBA may well divide opinions but there is no doubt he has played alongside some of the best players in the world.
After coming through the academy at Manchester United, he left for Juventus in 2012.
The 27-year-old enjoyed four successful years in Turin, winning four Serie A titles and two Coppa Italias before returning to Old Trafford in a £89million British-record transfer in 2016 – although he continues to be linked with moves away.
This season has been a struggle as ankle injuries have limited him to just eight appearances, the last of which came against Newcastle on Boxing Day.
Now Manchester United have put together an XI based on the players Pogba has lined up alongside the most.
There may be some who miss out despite playing more games – such as Andrea Barzagli (113) and Chris Smalling (94) – but the XI is comprised to form an actual team.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s XI featured eight Real Madrid players and three from his time at Manchester United while Lionel Messi’s – of course – is made up entirely of Barcelona heroes past and present.
So now it is time to reveal Paul Pogba’s ultimate XI…
GK – Gianluigi Buffon
While Pogba was trying to create going forwards in all four of his title-winning seasons with Juventus, Buffon was doing the business at the back.
The legendary stopper, whose career started way back in 1995, has played 667 times for the Juve with 156 of those coming with Pogba also on the field – David De Gea is actually seventh on the list with 121 but must settle for a place on the bench.
RB – Stephan Lichtsteiner
While Aaron Wan-Bissaka looks set to be the Red Devils right-back for the next few years, Pogba has played the most matches with Lichtsteiner as the right-back – 123 to be precise.
The Swiss struggled at Arsenal but made an impact in his seven years at the Allianz Stadium, winning 11 major honours.
CB – Leonardo Bonucci
No player has played in more matches with Pogba than Bonucci, with a massive total of 161 – and that could that go up even more if Pogba makes a stunning return to Turin.
The Italian helped provide the rock-solid back line to allow the likes of Pogba to push on and dominate Serie A in the 2010s.
CB – Giorgio Chiellini
Chiellini has been a mainstay in the Juventus defence since joining Juve in 2005, even dropping down to Serie B in his second season, and has spent many of those years alongside Bonucci.
As well as racking up 103 caps for Italy, Chiellini can boast 125 games with the French midfielder before he returned to Manchester.
LB – Patrice Evra
Evra is ironically the player to have played the fewest times with Pogba in the entire XI with 92.
That is despite the fact that he is the only one to play with Pogba at Manchester United, albeit just four times, Juventus and for the French national team.
CM – Andrea Pirlo
The first part of a pretty impressive midfield of the last decade is Pirlo.
After ten years with AC Milan, he joined Juventus for four years, with three of those and 93 matches overlapping with Pogba.
CM – Claudio Marchisio
Marchisio may have retired last October but was an under-rated member of the midfield diamond that won the double in 2015 and reached the Champions League final – one of 131 times he teamed up with Pogba.
He joined the Old Lady aged seven and remained on the books with the club until 2018, joining Zenit for the final season of his career.
CM – Arturo Vidal
Out of that midfield four, it was Vidal who would be tasked with the more combative side of things.
A top-flight winner in Chile, Italy, Germany and Spain, the Barca midfielder also won two Copa Americas and lined up with Pogba 96 times.
RW – Jesse Lingard
After eight Juventus players, the attack is all about Manchester United, starting with Lingard.
The close friends have made 100 first-team appearances together for the Red Devils but also took to the field together 14 times for the Under-23s.
ST – Marcus Rashford
Rashford broke on to the scene in February 2016, just a few months before Pogba rejoined United.
They have been on the same team 122 times – no United player has done so more with the Frenchman – and between them scored 51 times in those matches.
LW – Anthony Martial
Martial may have been overlooked for the France World Cup squad which Pogba helped to World Cup glory but the compatriots are used to each other’s company.
Now together at Old Trafford, the first of their 109 appearances alongside one another came in an international friendly against Portugal in September 2015.
