Paul Pogba's iconic moments for Manchester United, Juventus and France

Dan Burnham
10 October 2021

Paul Pogba of Manchester United celebrates

Pogba is one of soccer's most decorated midfielders when it comes to winning medals and continues to deliver on the big stage for France...

Few soccer players divide opinion like Paul Pogba does, but one indisputable truth is few soccer players possess world-class quality like Pogba either.

He had a game to forget over the weekend. Not only was he sent off against Liverpool, but the club suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford.

However, the Frenchman has lit up both the pitch and the internet throughout his rollercoaster career, with his athleticism, creativeness and box-to-box dominance setting him apart from the rest, and even earning him the nickname 'Paul the Octopus' in Italy.

Pogba left Le Havre aged 16 to move to Manchester United, spending more than seven years at Old Trafford to date over two spells, with a very fruitful four-year sabbatical at Juventus sandwiched in between.

A player of his stature deserves to be celebrated, so we at Planet Sport are going to look back at some of Paul Pogba's most iconic moments to date.

2018 World Cup Winner

paul pogba france manchester united world cup 2018 jules rimet trophy

Pogba was at his scintillating best for his national team in Russia, as the French captured their second World Cup in 2018.

He was a pivotal part of the side, with manager Didier Deschamps starting him in all but one game, featuring in 539 out of a possible 630 minutes in the tournament.

It was very much a case of start as you mean to go on for Pogba, who played a defence-splitting pass that led to a penalty and had an effort deflect off the bar and over the line in France's opening 2-1 victory against Australia.

He sat alongside N'Golo Kante in a no-nonsense defensive midfield duo as France saw off powerhouses Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium in the knockout stages on their way to the final, but certainly saved his best until last.

A contender for pass of the tournament to Kylian Mbappe started a move that was finished by the man himself, netting from the edge of the box for France's third goal after his initial effort had been blocked.

Mbappe stole the majority of the headlines following the 4-2 success, but Pogba was every bit as influential as the teenage sensation as Les Bleus righted the wrongs of their Euro 2016 defeat two years previously.

World record transfer fee

Selling a player for £1.5million and then re-signing him four years later for 59 times that figure might not be the wisest transfer deal, but that's exactly what United did with Pogba in 2016.

The £89million fee they spent was, at the time, a world-record-breaking sum, surpassing the £85million Real Madrid splashed out on Gareth Bale.

In United's defence, Pogba was a wantaway man when he made the switch to Juventus as a 19-year-old, with his lack of game time under Sir Alex Ferguson leaving a sour taste in the midfielder's mouth.

Throw Pogba's ever-controversial agent Mino Raiola into the mix, and there was not a lot the Red Devils could do to keep hold of their academy prospect.

An announcement video with grime artist Stormzy provided the grand re-entrance that the unprecedented move warranted, but the record was broken just one year later when Neymar made a £200million switch from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017.

Four consecutive Serie A titles

paul pogba juventus manchester city champions league 2015

Pogba's time at Juventus was packed full of success - the Old Lady won four Serie A titles on the bounce, two Coppa Italias and two Italian Super Cups, while also making the 2014/15 Champions League final.

Not only did he achieve at a team level, but he also picked up many personal accolades, including being named 2013's Golden Boy, an award given to the best performing under-21 player in Europe.

In his four years in Turin, Pogba turned his potential into reality, totalling 34 goals and 40 assists in 178 appearances before making the move back to Manchester.

The dab celebration

paul pogba manchester united efl cup dab trophy

The 'dab' has now become an accepted part of society, but back in the mid-2010s, it was the latest internet craze to take the world by storm.

And it was, of course, the eccentric Pogba who introduced it to the world of soccer, first whipping it out in celebration of his goal against Carpi FC in Serie A on December 20, 2015.

The dance move was popularised by NFL quarterback Cam Newton in October of that year and is thought to have been originated by American hip-hop group Migos, whose song 'Look at My Dab' was released around the same time.

Pogba continued dabbing his way through 2016, helping to grow the move into the global sensation it became, and clearly remembered to pack it in his bags when he got his flight to England as he rocked it for the Red Devils with reacquainted team-mate Jesse Lingard.

He's since dabbed with the World Cup trophy and urged the public to use the move to stop the spread of Coronavirus - there's never a dull moment with Paul.

Winning the Europa League

paul pogba europa league trophy manchester united 2017

Pogba's time in the red side of Manchester hasn't quite been the fairytale return United fans hoped for so far, but one of his highlights was scoring in the Europa League final win over Ajax in 2017.

He was an ever-present in the team throughout the competition, starting all 14 games en route to the showdown with the Dutch side, as United looked to add one of the few trophies they had never acquired to their cabinet.

And as he does, Pogba stepped up on the big stage, giving his side the lead in the 18th minute when his shot from outside the box deflected off Davinson Sanchez and past a despairing Andre Onana.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored a second to secure United's first European title since their 2007/08 Champions League success in Moscow.

Playing against brother Florentin

paul florentin pogba brothers manchester united st etienne europa league

Two of those Europa League games in the 2016/17 season came against Saint-Etienne, who had a Pogba of their own in their ranks - Paul's older brother Florentin.

The round of 32 match-up presented the unique situation of Paul facing off against one of his brothers (Florentin has a twin called Mathias who currently plays for Racing Murcia in Spain) for the very first time.

The action on the pitch in the first leg was dominated by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win, but it was the scenes following the full-time whistle that we at Planet Sport love to look back on.

The two siblings spent some precious time on the Old Trafford pitch, embracing and waving to their family who were watching on from the stands, in a moment that really does encapsulate the beautiful game.

Naturally, Roy Keane put his two cents in on the matter, saying: "They've spoken to each other more tonight than I think I've spoken to any of my brothers in the last five years", but even his negativity couldn't ruin the special moment.