Where it all went wrong for Paul Pogba: From king of the world to nowhere man - how an extravagant talent fell to earth

Paul Pogba was still only 25 when he won the World Cup with France in Russia in 2018. In some ways, it already felt as if he was a veteran and yet the way he played in the final against Croatia, it also seemed that the best of his career must surely lie ahead of him.

That final in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium felt like an epiphany for those of us who had grown weary of Pogba’s football career being reinvented as a tiresome soap opera that had increasingly become dominated by under-achievement at Manchester United after his record-breaking move to Old Trafford.

But in the World Cup final, Pogba played as if he were the king of the world. He let his football do the talking and it was the most articulate and expressive that even a quick-witted man like him had ever been. Antoine Griezmann was the official man of the match but most people knew it was Pogba.

He dominated football’s biggest stage that evening. When France were wobbling slightly at 2-1 up in the second half, it was Pogba who volleyed a brilliant pass inside a Croatia full-back for Kylian Mbappe to run on to.

Pogba did not sit and admire his pass. He ran to the edge of the area and when Mbappe and Griezmann worked it back to him, he saw one shot blocked by a defender and then curled the rebound with his left foot superbly into the corner of the Croatia goal. As he ran towards the corner flag, he was buried by an avalanche of his teammates.

That day in Moscow, Pogba played like the best midfielder in the world. It always felt as if he had that in him. He had all the attributes. He had the brain, the build and the athleticism. At his best, in his first spell at Juventus and for France, he was a quite magnificent footballer.

It is why Thursday’s news that Pogba has been