Manchester United star Paul Pogba insisted he had forgotten about his world-record transfer fee after a week, before getting constant reminders.
Pogba returned to Old Trafford last year after United paid a record initial fee of €105million to sign him from Juventus.
The price tag was often brought up as Pogba’s performances were questioned during 2016-17, even as United went on to win three trophies.
But the 24-year-old France international said he quickly moved on from the fee – only to be reminded repeatedly.
“After one week, I forgot. It’s people that reminded me,” Pogba told Esquire magazine.
“Because at the end of the day, when you die, the most expensive and the less expensive, they go in the same grave. So I don’t even think about it.”
Pogba scored nine goals in 51 appearances for United, who won the Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield.
Pogba also said the people of Manchester have to fight the threat of terrorism and never give up.
In an interview with Esquire magazine, Pogba spoke for the first time about life in the city as a muslim a year on from his world-record transfer to Manchester United from Juventus.
The French midfielder admitted the terrorist attack on the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in May was a “difficult moment” for his adopted hometown but that the city must not be cowed by such actions.
“It’s a very difficult moment but you cannot give up,” he said. “We can’t let them get in our heads – we have to fight for it.
“Sad things happen in life but you cannot stop living. You cannot kill a human being. To kill a human being… it’s something crazy, so I don’t want to put religion on it. This is not Islam and everybody knows that. I won’t be the only one saying that.”
Pogba returned to Manchester four years after initially leaving United following his time in their youth system but always felt he would return.
Four years in Italian football and an £89m transfer later and Pogba was back in the city, where he is now even speaking like a native.
“At first, I couldn’t even understand my team-mates with their Mancunian accents,” he said.
“They’d speak fast and I’d say, ‘Speak slow, slow… ‘I couldn’t speak. My friends right now, they laugh at me. They say, ‘Oh, I remember the first days, you couldn’t speak. And now, you just speak better than us. You speak Mancunian with the accent!’ So it’s funny.”
