In a wide-ranging interview, published by Esquire Magazine, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba admitted his decision to leave the Red Devils and move to Juventus was purely football-related – but deep down, he always envisaged he would wear the red shirt again.

After four years at the Turin giants – which yielded four Serie A titles – United shelled out a world-record £89.3 million fee to re-sign the midfielder last summer and the Frenchman played a starring role in the Red Devils’ treble success under Jose Mourinho.

For Pogba now, everything is in place with the Old Trafford club – as if it was ever in any doubt for him.

“I left Manchester to play. That’s all I wanted. Even though I was young, I felt I could play now and I didn’t want to wait. So if it wasn’t with Manchester it would be with someone else,” the 24-year-old said.

“But in my mind, I knew: ‘It’s not finished, I might come back.’ My mum told me this: ‘You’ll come back one day.’ And here I am: having a haircut in Manchester.”