‘I had never known such a difficult period in my career’ – Pogba on Man United

Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - November 1, 2020 Manchester United's Paul Pogba reacts after fouling Arsenal's Hector Bellerin resulting in Arsenal being awarded a penalty by referee Mike Dean [REUTERS/Paul Ellis]

Paul Pogba has openly talked about the fact he is going through the most difficult period of his career while at Manchester United.

The France international has found himself out of the line up a lot recently, starting just one of United's past four games.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has stated that it was unfair of him to rush Pogba back from injury and as a result wanted to taper his recovery.

But when Solskjaer needed a result most against Everton, Pogba once again found himself on the bench.

Now on international duty with France, Pogba has said that coming away to meet his countrymen has been a breath of fresh air.

While not criticising or saying anything bad about the club, Pogba did confess that times have been tough of late

"I had never known such a difficult period in my career," he told RTL.

Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal - November 14, 2020 France's Paul Pogba in action with Portugal's Bernardo Silva [REUTERS/Rafael Marchante]

Pogba played in France's 2-0 defeat to Finland and his body language was criticised in the loss. The midfielder was accused of appearing lacklustre and lazy.

But France boss Didier Deschamps defended the midfielder.

"He's not in his best form of course, I knew that before," said Les Bleus boss. "This match was to be useful for him to give him some rhythm.

"Like all the players who have a situation in a club that is not positive, beyond the athletic aspect, they are also impacted on the mental level.

"They have the knowledge of the high level, pride, also the pride of being able to respond."

Pogba did start again in France's fixture against Portugal on Saturday night, lining up against team-mate Bruno Fernandes.

This time France enjoyed a better result, winning 1-0.