Paul Pogba says he “cannot wait” to make his second Manchester United debut, telling Sky Sports: “This comeback shows I left United but a part of my heart was still here.”
Pogba, 23, is due to make his first appearance since his world-record £89.3 million move from Juventus when United play Southampton at Old Trafford on Friday night.
The France international had spent time in the United youth academy but headed Juve in 2012 after failing to make a first-team start under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Explaining his return, he told Thierry Henry in an interview for Sky Sports: “First of all I always loved United to be honest.
“I left here because I wanted to play and I wanted to show the world, to show United, that I was ready to play and I was motivated to play.
“This comeback shows I left United but a part of my heart was still here.”
He said he “cannot wait just to wear the shirt again” and that he is relishing the chance to play under new United boss Jose Mourinho.
“You see a big coach like him, who has done a lot and has won everything, and when he comes here, takes the players and wants to go back to winning,” he said.
“I played four years in Italy. If he’d come two years after I’d left [United], maybe I wouldn’t have come, I would have stayed at Juve. I think it was the right time for him to come, and for me to come back.”
The midfielder is aiming to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League this season, saying: “I want everything. That would be perfect.”
There has been some debate over Pogba’s likely position under Mourinho. He said he is capable of playing in a holding midfield role but added: “I feel more comfortable a bit higher.”
While he hopes to play in a more advanced position, Mourinho has acknowledged that Pogba cannot match the goal returns of Ballon d’Or rivals Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Even so, the midfielder is determined to one day be named the world’s best player.
“It’s true,” he said. “That’s my dream. That’s one of my objectives. I always dream about winning the Ballon d’Or. What’s kept me going like this is objectives. I’d rather dream like crazy and say crazy things because it’s a dream. I want to dream big things. Maybe it will happen and maybe not, but I will dream it.”
Pogba also said he has “big respect” for former United boss Ferguson, despite the controversial nature of his departure, and said he is “the greatest manager in football.”
He continued: “I don’t have any problems with him and I never had. The only problem maybe I had was I wanted to play. For him maybe it was too early, for me it was too late, and that’s it. I respect him, I will always respect him, and I hope to see him again.”
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