Man Utd news: Ralf Rangnick to welcome back 'motivated' Paul Pogba despite contract stand-off
- News Feeds
- 19 January 2022
Midfielder will not be frozen out despite looking increasingly likely to quit Man Utd in the summer, insists Ralf Rangnick.
Ralf Rangnick does not believe Paul Pogba will be impacted by his contract rapidly running down at Manchester United.
The Frenchman will be a free agent in the summer, and he appears reluctant to sign a new deal with the Red Devils to extend his stay.
That has led many analysts to questions whether Man Utd should continue to rely on Pogba, speculating that he may no longer be motivated to see the club succeed.
Rangnick, though, is ready to welcome Pogba back from injury and says he sees no problem at all in using the midfielder for the remainder of the season.
"I also played Nemanja Matic now in the last games and his contract is also expiring. By the way, my contract as a manager is also expiring in the summer," Rangnick said.
"So, 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?
"And as long as this is the case, why shouldn't Paul Pogba now after two and half months of injury, being 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 for only showing up for a new contract elsewhere, I mean, he will be highly motivated to do that. Why should I then not play him?
"But then, as I said, there is a difference of how do players deal with their current situation? How do they handle that?
"If they handle that in a professional way, in an ambitious way, of course I can and I will play players although they have a contract expiring in the summer."
