'Why shouldn't I?' Rangnick will keep picking wantaway Pogba as he eyes up Real Madrid move
Stefan Bienkowski
- 18 Jan 2022 16:48 CST
- 5 min read
Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has confirmed that he’ll still play Paul Pogba, even if the midfielder is pushing for a move away from the club next season.
The France international’s contract at the Old Trafford side is set to expire at the end of the season, which means he can already speak to other clubs above a free transfer in the summer.
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With no fresh reports of a breakthrough in negotiations, most Man Utd fans have resigned themselves to the fact that Pogba will leave the club in six months time.
According to the Daily Express, the midfielder has his heart set on a move to Real Madrid.
However, while Rangnick certainly acknowledged that point, he also pointed out that it wasn’t enough of a reason for the German manager to overlook Pogba for the rest of the season.
’Why shouldn’t I play Pogba?’
“Yes of course,” Rangnick replied when asked if there was any point in playing Pogba even though he knows he wants to leave.
“I also played Nemanja Matic in the last games and his contract is also expiring. By the way, my contract as a manager is also expiring in the summer. For us we have the same goal. We have the same ambition to be as successful as we can possibly be in the next three or four months.
“For me it's not a question if a player has an expiring contract, the question is how much does he still want to be a part of this group, how much does he still feel emotionally and physically on board.
“As long as this is the case, why shouldn't Paul Pogba now after two and half months of injury, fully fit again now and he also wants to show up, he wants to show the fans of Manchester United, the board, the whole world what kind of player he can be and even if it's only to show enough for a new contract elsewhere, he will be highly motivated to do that and why should I then not play him?
“But as I said, there is a difference of how players deal with their current situation. How do they handle that? If they handle that in a professional way, an ambitious way, of course I will play players although they have a contract expiring in the summer.”
