Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney was asked for his verdict on the long-awaited return of Paul Pogba to football after his former teammate’s Monaco debut.
Wayne Rooney played alongside Paul Pogba at Old Trafford and the former Manchester United striker spoke about the French midfielder on his podcast.
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Pogba, who left United for the second time in 2022, had signed for French outfit Monaco back in the summer as a free agent after his exit from Juventus in 2024.
The 32-year-old former United star had been out of action since 2023 after Pogba served a football ban for a doping offence that occurred during his time at Juventus.
Pogba’s suspension from football had initially been four years before it was reduced to two after a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2024.
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Former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba at the end of the French Ligue 1 football match between Stade Rennais and Monaco at the Roazhon Park stadium in Rennes, France, in 2025.
Photo by Lou BENOIST / AFP via Getty Images
What did Man Utd icon Wayne Rooney say about Paul Pogba’s Monaco debut vs Rennes?
Paul Pogba made his Monaco debut on Saturday after the former Manchester United and Juventus player came off the bench in the 4-1 defeat to Ligue 1 side Rennes.
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The former France international’s return to football with Monaco had been delayed due to an injury setback, but Pogba was subbed on in the second half last weekend.
Pogba took the place of Mamadou Coulibaly in the 85th minute and saw out the remainder of the match with 10-man Monaco at the Roazhon Park in Rennes.
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Speaking on BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show, the United legend said: “Yeah, no, he’s a good lad, Paul, and great to see him back playing.
“So, yeah, he’s a player, Pogba, who we’ve seen him as a kid in [the] Man Utd academy.
“He’d come up and train with us a few times, and you just look at him, he had everything to be a top player.
“He’s obviously gone on, won the World Cup and won big trophies and the last few years have been frustrating for him, but yeah, no, great to see him back.”
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Wayne Rooney on Paul Pogba as a player and what the Monaco midfielder was like as a Man Utd teammate
Ahead of his Monaco debut, Pogba’s last appearance in football came in 2023 during his time at Juventus after he played in the 2-0 Serie A win against Empoli.
Rooney has insisted that the 2018 World Cup winner would have likely “stood out” more had Pogba been playing in a “more flamboyant team” than at United.
“Yeah, no, honestly, he was so good,” he added.
“So, we’ll see, it remains to be seen if he can get back to [those] levels. But if he was in a more flamboyant team, if you like, compared to our team we had at the time, then I think he would have stood out a lot more as well.”
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Pogba returned to Old Trafford in 2016 after United re-signed him from Juventus and Rooney admitted that he liked the former France star as his club teammate.
“Yeah, he was good,” Rooney continued.
“You know what, he was really respectful to everyone, especially the older players, really respectful to them. But yeah, he was a nice teammate.
“He’d get on your nerves a little bit with all his dancing and all that, but that’s part of his character.”
When asked if Pogba ended up getting on his nerves, Rooney responded: “Yeah, it just depends. There’s a time and place for it.”
Pogba lifted the Europa League title and the League Cup alongside former United captain Rooney during Jose Mourinho’s reign at the Premier League club.