Andrea Pirlo Talks Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United, Juventus

Manchester United's decision to let Paul Pogba go in 2012 left Juventus players in "total disbelief," according to Andrea Pirlo, as they witnessed firsthand what the midfielder could do in training.

The France international left Old Trafford for the Bianconeri four years ago but returned this summer for a world-record transfer fee.

Pirlo, who played alongside Pogba at Juventus, has recounted the moment he and his team-mates realised what a huge error the Red Devils made letting the midfielder leave, per the Daily Telegraph (h/t Gill Clark of Goal):

"

On the first training session Pogba had with Juventus the players were laughing.

We were not laughing for any other reason than we were just in total disbelief that this player with so much obvious ability was able to leave the club the size of Manchester United for free—and I think Juventus are still laughing.

I will always remember that first day he trained at Juventus. He was only young but we could see he was special.

"

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Indeed, it was a costly mistake by United, as they parted with a whopping £89 million to bring the 23-year-old back to the club for a second spell. The former Juventus man is set to make his second debut for the Red Devils on Friday, when they face Southampton at Old Trafford.

The decision to let Pogba go was lamented quickly by many tied to United, as the player adapted to life in Serie A superbly. During his time at Juventus, he forged a brilliant understanding with Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio, prompting domestic dominance and a run to the UEFA Champions League final in 2014-15.

Marchisio is the only member of that illustrious quartet still at the club following Pogba’s sale, although Juventus will be delighted to have made such a significant profit on a player they picked up for a meagre fee.

As noted by sports journalist Liam Canning, it would have been understandable if the Frenchman had decided to stay in Turin:

However, United have been ambitious in their recruitment this summer. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly have also signed up for Jose Mourinho’s Old Trafford revolution, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic has joined on a free transfer.

The Swede is another player Pirlo knows well, and the Italian has tipped the veteran forward to have a big impact. “They will lift the players, the fans,” he said of the two marquee captures. “You give any team Pogba and Zlatan in one window and they are capable of special things.”

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That much has been evident from Ibrahimovic in the early stage of his United career. After bagging the winner against Leicester City in the Community Shield, the 34-year-old scored on his Premier League debut in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth, too.

As we can see courtesy of uMAXit Football, Pogba and Ibrahimovic already look to have struck up a friendship:

That’ll delight United supporters. Plenty will point to money spent on a player who was theirs four years ago, but Pogba is back at United and is likely to be for some time. The Frenchman has improved during his time away from the club, and provided he settles, he has the talent to take the division by storm.

The prospect of him linking up with Ibrahimovic is a tantalising one. Granted, United remain a big work in progress under Mourinho, but as Pirlo noted, with those kinds of personalities on the pitch, the Red Devils will always have a chance of winning games.