Former Manchester United duo Angel di Maria and Paul Pogba are coming in for heavy criticism at Juventus.
Angel di Maria and Paul Pogba are two of the most talented footballers to wear the Manchester United shirt in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
But they only showed their moments in flashes despite strong starts. Nowadays the pair are playing together, something they did not do at Old Trafford after Di Maria quit after just one season, loaned to PSG with his permanent move confirmed in the same summer Pogba arrived.
Their season at Juventus is not going too well, however, with the Old Lady slumped in seventh position in Serie A.
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Di Maria and Pogba slammed
The bigger the name and reputation, the higher the expectation. Angel di Maria and Paul Pogba both signed for Juventus last summer, and the Italian side have not received the impact they hoped for.
Pogba’s move has been particularly disastrous since his move from Manchester United. Injury has restricted him to playing just 35 minutes of football all season.
Di Maria, 35, has only made 11 Serie A starts himself. The pair have come in for some harsh criticism.
Football Italia report how Il Corriere dello Sport editor Ivan Zazzaroni has dubbed Pogba and Di Maria as ‘football cadavers’.
This literally translates as ‘football corpses’, branding the duo as past their sell by date.
LiberoQuotidiano report that Di Maria responded to this jibe with a laughing emoji on Instagram, dismissing the criticism.
Zazzaroni has been questioned over his comments, and is sticking by them.
He explained via TMW: “I say the things that everyone thinks, I was referring exclusively to the physical part being a great champion [Di Maria] who has played 36 per cent of this year’s matches earning 6 million a year. I think there were some reservations even at PSG given the non-renewal.
“Pogba I understand that not even Allegri knows when he will return. I used a Bolognese term, but an incredible mess turned up.”
This is worth keeping an eye on from a Manchester United perspective beyond just taking a curious interest in former players.
Manchester United could face Juventus in the Europa League semi-finals if both teams win their upcoming quarter-finals.
Whether Di Maria or Pogba will be fit for a such a showdown, is another matter entirely.