‘He isn’t your prisoner or your property’ – Super agent Mino Raiola hits back at Man. United boss Solskjaer for comments about his client Paul Pogba
Superstar agent Mino Raiola has come out to blast Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in an explosive Twitter rant after Solskjaer made comments about his client Paul Pogba.
Pogba’s desire to leave Manchester United has dominated media headlines the last two years and his relationship with the club hit a new low when he said he wanted a ‘new challenge’ during the summer transfer window.
Pogba signed from Juventus to Manchester United for a then world-record fee of 80m pounds and has played just eight games for Manchester United this season, with his last appearance coming on Boxing Day, as a persistent foot injury has kept him out of action.
He and his agent Raiola have flirted with Real Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona in the past, but Manchester United have held firm to their asset declaring he isn’t for sale, much to the ire of Pogba whose demeanour at times on the pitch cuts a forlorn figure.
His agent, Raiola, notoriously known for spiking the media to raise transfer fees and establish transfers for his players has always been in the news talking about Pogba and in a recent interview said Pogba will only stay at Man United beyond this season if the sporting project at the club is an ambitious one.
On Monday, Solskjaer said: “Paul is our player and not Mino’s. I haven’t sat down and told Paul to tell his agent what to say. I’ve not spoken to Mino, that’s for sure.”
Raiola, hearing of Solksjaer’s comments, objected to Solskjaer saying Pogba was ‘our player’ and wrote a lengthy statement on social media slamming his choice of words. Raiola said Pogba is ‘not Solskjaer’s property, Paul is Paul Pogba’s’ and that ‘no one can own a human being for a long time in the UK’.
Posting three write-ups on his Twitter handle; Raiola said;
“Paul is not mine and for sure not Solskjaer’s property, Paul is Paul Pogba’s. You cannot own a human being already for a long time in the UK or anywhere else.
“I hope Solskjaer do not want to suggest that Paul is his prisoner.
“But before Solskjaer makes comments about things I say he should inform himself better about the content of what has been said.
“I am a free citizen who can think and express my thoughts. Until now I was maybe too nice to him. Solskjaer should just remember things that he said in the summer to Paul.
“I think Solskjaer may be frustrated for different reasons and is now mixing up some issues. I think that Solskjaer has other things to worry about. At least if I was him I would.”
Apart from Pogba, Raiola’s huge clientele includes Erling Braut Haaland, Zlatan Ibrahimovi?, Mario Balotelli, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Étienne Capoue, Blaise Matuidi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matthijs de Ligt, Moise Kean, Lorenzo Insigne, Marco Verratti and Jesse Lingard . Raiola is among the richest sports agents in the world according to Forbes.
Paul is not mine and for sure not Solskjaer’s property, Paul is Paul Pogba’s. pic.twitter.com/CvBHW8mj8U
— RAIOLA (@MinoRaiola) February 17, 2020