Pogba backs Manchester United to end 13-year Premier League title drought under Carrick

Paul Pogba has backed Manchester United to end their 13-year Premier League title drought under Michael Carrick, predicting the newly appointed permanent manager will deliver the club’s first league crown since Sir Alex Ferguson’s final season.

Carrick impressed as interim boss last term, steering United back into the Champions League, and was subsequently given the role on a full-time basis. The club are already moving in the transfer market to support him, with a move for Ederson and a central midfielder reported to be in the pipeline.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Pogba was direct when asked whether his former teammate could deliver the title. “Yes. I think Manchester United will win in the next years, they’re going to be champions of the Premier League,” the Frenchman said. “If Arsenal can be champions then Manchester United will definitely be champion.”

The 33-year-old, who made 226 appearances for United across two spells at Old Trafford, acknowledged the boldness of his claim before doubling down on it. “It’s a big statement. No disrespect but I believe they will. In the next five years they’re going to win. Maybe I went a bit far, I will say in the next three years. In my opinion I think they can make it.”

Pogba first joined United as a teenager in 2009 before leaving for Juventus in 2012 with limited first-team opportunities. He returned in 2016 for a then-world record £88 million fee, scoring 39 goals before departing back to Juventus on a free transfer. A doping ban handed down in February 2024 was subsequently reduced, and he has since been playing for Ligue 1 side Monaco.

The comments come shortly after Pogba tipped France to win the 2026 World Cup, telling ESPN he believes the current squad is stronger than the side he helped lift the trophy in 2018. “For me, as players — talent and everything — I think they’re better than us,” he said. “But obviously, that is not enough to win a World Cup, and there is more pressure on them. They have to keep the standard as high as possible.”