Evra ‘scared’ that Pogba will be treated like Beckham

Matt Stead

Patrice Evra believes that people want Paul Pogba to prioritise his image over his football.

Pogba’s image in the public sphere has come in for criticism since he joined Manchester United for a world-record fee of £89.3million last summer.

The Frenchman’s different hairstyles have been questioned, while Rio Ferdinand criticised his relationship with Jesse Lingard recently.

It was reported last week that manager Jose Mourinho told the midfielder to concentrate more on his performances than his off-field activities, such as launching his own Twitter emoji.

Evra, who played with Pogba both with United and Serie A side Juventus, feels that the situation is similar to that experienced by David Beckham, who became a celebrity during his time at Old Trafford.

“If he has a bad game, people criticise him for what he does on social media or his haircuts, but he won’t change,” Evra told FourFourTwo. “He thinks for himself and acts for himself.

“I don’t want his image coming before his football, and although I’m not worried that will happen, I’m scared other people hope it does so they can criticise him like they did with David Beckham.”