Darmian: Rashford can win Ballon d'Or & criticism of Pogba is unjustified
Former Manchester United right-back Matteo Darmian believes Marcus Rashford can go on to be a future Ballon d'Or winner and claims criticism of Paul Pogba at the club has been unjustified.
Darmian spent four years at United having joined in July 2015 from Italian outfit Torino, and saw Rashford make his first-team debut in his first year at the club before France midfielder Pogba joined a year later.
And the 30-year-old defender - who now plays for Serie A side Parma after joining them in August 2019 from United - maintains he was convinced of Rashford's ability from his first training session with the senior squad and has backed him to reach the level of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.
'I immediately thought: 'wow, this is an incredible player'. He did so many impressive things for a player of his age and the way he improved in every detail really impressed me,' Darmian told The Guardian.
'If he continues to work the way he has done so far he can be a Ballon d'Or winner. I'm convinced of this.
'He impressed me the most of all the players at United and he's very young and can still improve. For me he can reach the level of Kylian Mbappé and compete for the Ballon d'Or for years to come.'
The Italy international also leapt to the defence of United midfielder Pogba, whose future at Old Trafford is mired in doubt as links with a move to Real Madrid continue.
Darmian however believes the 27-year-old World Cup winner is the victim of the £89.3million fee the club paid Juventus in 2016 for his signature, and has maintained that criticism regarding his work rate and general performance levels are wide of the mark.
'The real 'problem' with Pogba at United, I think, was the price the club paid for him and that conditioned the way people perceived him,' Darmian continued.
'There has been a lot of unjustified criticism towards Pogba, for example that he doesn't work hard enough, but he always gave his best, I can assure you, in every training session.
'In my opinion his performances were good in recent years, they talk about him too negatively [in the UK].
'Did I see Pogba unhappy or willing to leave? No, I honestly didn't see him sad or unhappy, quite the opposite, for all the time I was in Manchester, Paul was absolutely happy with his decision to go back there. He really cares about doing well at Manchester United.'
Darmian spent four years at United having joined in July 2015 from Italian outfit Torino, and saw Rashford make his first-team debut in his first year at the club before France midfielder Pogba joined a year later.
And the 30-year-old defender - who now plays for Serie A side Parma after joining them in August 2019 from United - maintains he was convinced of Rashford's ability from his first training session with the senior squad and has backed him to reach the level of Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe.
'I immediately thought: 'wow, this is an incredible player'. He did so many impressive things for a player of his age and the way he improved in every detail really impressed me,' Darmian told The Guardian.
'If he continues to work the way he has done so far he can be a Ballon d'Or winner. I'm convinced of this.
'He impressed me the most of all the players at United and he's very young and can still improve. For me he can reach the level of Kylian Mbappé and compete for the Ballon d'Or for years to come.'
The Italy international also leapt to the defence of United midfielder Pogba, whose future at Old Trafford is mired in doubt as links with a move to Real Madrid continue.
Darmian however believes the 27-year-old World Cup winner is the victim of the £89.3million fee the club paid Juventus in 2016 for his signature, and has maintained that criticism regarding his work rate and general performance levels are wide of the mark.
'The real 'problem' with Pogba at United, I think, was the price the club paid for him and that conditioned the way people perceived him,' Darmian continued.
'There has been a lot of unjustified criticism towards Pogba, for example that he doesn't work hard enough, but he always gave his best, I can assure you, in every training session.
'In my opinion his performances were good in recent years, they talk about him too negatively [in the UK].
'Did I see Pogba unhappy or willing to leave? No, I honestly didn't see him sad or unhappy, quite the opposite, for all the time I was in Manchester, Paul was absolutely happy with his decision to go back there. He really cares about doing well at Manchester United.'
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