Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson blames agent Mino Raiola for Paul Pogba's Old Trafford exit

Paul Pogba's Manchester United exit was down to the player's agent Mino Raiola, according to Red Devils' former manager Sir Alex Ferguson. He left Old Trafford as a free agent and completed a move to Juventus in 2012.

The 22-year-old has won the Serie A every season since he joined the Turin club and has developed into one of the best midfielder's in Europe. The French international's form has seen him attract interest from top clubs across the continent.

United legend Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Pogba is a potential Ballon d'Or winner and said his former manager was wrong in letting the player leave. Ferguson has revealed in his new book titled Leading, how his agent's influence saw the midfielder's exit from the club, despite being close to signing a new contract at Old Trafford.

"There are one or two football agents I simply do not like. And Mino Raiola, Paul Pogba's agent, is one of them," Ferguson wrote in his new book, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

"I distrusted him from the moment I met him. He became Zlatan Ibrahimovic's agent while he was playing for Ajax, and eventually he would end up representing Pogba, who was only 18-years-old at the time.

"We had Paul under a three-year contract, and it had a one-year renewal option which we were eager to sign. But Raiola suddenly appeared on the scene and our first meeting was a fiasco.

"He and I were like oil and water. From then on, our goose was cooked because Raiola had been able to ingratiate himself with Paul and his family and the player signed with Juventus," the Old Trafford favourite explained.

Meanwhile, Pogba has seen his midfield partners Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo, along with Carlos Tevez leave Juventus in the summer. The former United striker's exit has allowed him to take the No 10 shirt.

"Taking on the number 10 is to follow in the footsteps of Michel Platini and several other Juventus greats. It's very important that I honour the shirt on the pitch, the club has shown a lot of faith in me," Pogba said, as quoted by Goal.

"I need to keep working on my game, both in terms of build-up play and my runs off the ball. I need to put in strong performances both for the benefit of myself and that of the side," he added.