Paul Pogba has admitted to having grown up as an Arsenal fan who idolised compatriot Thierry Henry before changing his allegiance to Manchester United once he linked up with the Red Devils’ youth team.
Pogba headed to Old Trafford in 2009 and saw his potential unlocked which allowed him to become a senior star across two spells at Old Trafford – the second of which saw an £89 million ($112m) fee required to price him from Juventus.
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And the 27-year-old conceded that he once favoured Arsenal over United.
“I will be honest. So, at the start, I was an Arsenal fan – obviously because of all the French players, you know,” Pogba told United’s official podcast.
“Me and my brother were but my other brother was a Manchester United fan.
“I couldn’t say anything so I used to love Henry and, because of him, I was an Arsenal fan. Then I changed and went on to choose with my other brother. No Arsenal, I went with the other one, the United fan!”
Aside Henry, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner also mentioned other football greats he idolized.
He added: “I had Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, [Zinedine] Zidane, Thierry Henry, Djibril Cisse, Kaka.”
And former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger revealed the Gunners were in the market for Pogba when he left United for Juventus.
The Frenchman told beIN Sports: “As a footballer, he has everything. It is difficult to figure out what he doesn’t have.
“Things happened very quickly. We were interested in him. We tried to get him to come. But he very quickly signed for Juventus.
“He has the potential to win the Ballon d’Or.”
