The ex-Red Devils striker feels a World Cup-winning midfielder on the books at Old Trafford has been unfairly singled out by a Liverpool legend.
Paul Pogba’s “strange” spat with Liverpool legend Graeme Souness will have the Manchester United midfielder asking “am I the only player on the f*cking planet?’, says Dimitar Berbatov.
The World Cup winner has attracted criticism from an outspoken pundit throughout his time at Old Trafford.
Questions have been asked of Pogba’s dedication to the Red Devils reason and capability to dominate games in a manner befitting a man with an £89 million ($111m) price tag.
The conversation has been rather one-sided for the most part, with Souness given licence to express his emotions in public.
Pogba has eventually offered a response, claiming he had never heard of the Scot before arriving in England, with the Frenchman then told to “put your medals on the table” by a three-time European Cup winner.
Former United striker Berbatov is baffled as to how things got this far, telling Betfair of a childish dispute: “With Souness and Pogba, I find it all a little strange, however when someone continuously criticises you, of course you are going to snap.
“Even if it is correct criticism, if it is continuously aimed at you and it would not matter what you are doing, at some point you are going to be like: ‘Wait a minute, am I the only player on the f*cking planet here?’ It would not matter who the other man or woman is, you are going to say some thing back and protect yourself, like what Pogba is doing, it is normal.
“There have been lots of things that used to p*ss me off when I played, if I had a bad game or I did not score I would look in the newspaper and there would be someone saying sh*t matters about me.
You read comments, you hear people talking about you and then, when you have a good game and score a couple of goals, it is a ‘coincidence’ or it was ‘against a weak opposition’ and stuff like this.
“Of course that gets you thinking, for some people no matter what you do, it is in no way enough. You try to not pay interest to these things, however it is not possible to do, especially nowadays with social media, you are surrounded with opinions. It was the same for me and my colleagues, there was always someone that did not like us.
“I have also experienced being a pundit. I liked doing it and possibly I will do it again. I always attempt not to be too judgmental due to the fact I have been there and I understand how it is, of course I can easily rip into some players and say this, this and this so that it makes for better TV viewings, however I understand how challenging it is at times.
“It might not look like a player is putting that much effort in however people do not see behind the scenes, so I try to be a voice of reason, even when some players possibly do deserve a bit more criticism.
I know that every self-respecting footballer, who wants to grow and develop, will know straight away if they do not play properly and they do not need anyone to tell them.”
Pogba has been restricted to just eight outings for United this season via injury, however is back to full health and “hungry” to silence his doubters when competitive action resumes after the Covid-19 pandemic.
