Pogba admits being Arsenal fan while growing up

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba revealed while growing up he was an Arsenal fan. French international idolised Thierry Henry and wanted to follow the footsteps of the countryman.

"I will be honest. So, at the start, I was an Arsenal fan - obviously because of all the French players, you know. Me and my brother were but my other brother was a Manchester United fan," Pogba told United's official podcast.

"I couldn't say anything so I used to love Henry and, because of him, I was an Arsenal fan. Then I changed and went on to choose with my other brother. No Arsenal, I went with the other one, the United fan!" he added.

Pogba came through the youth ranks at Old Trafford while Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge but after only making a handful of appearances for the first team in 2011/12 he left for Juventus in the summer.

He re-joined United in 2016 from Juventus when Jose Mourinho was the manager as he saw it as an opportunity to finish what he had started.

Henry, who had left Arsenal for Barcelona by the time Pogba arrived in England, was not the only iconic Frenchman or all-time great that an energetic midfielder looked up to.

"I had Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, [Zinedine] Zidane, Thierry Henry, Djibril Cisse, Kaka," Pogba said.

( With inputs from ANI )