The French midfielder left Old Trafford on a free transfer in 2012 after being allowed to depart by the legendary former manager before returning four years later for a then-record £89 million fee and Evra thinks that factors aside from football were at play in the move.

The former United full-back told the 'Stick to Football' podcast: "Manchester United brought Paul Pogba back because they wanted to humiliate Sir Alex Ferguson.

"I told Paul not to go back because he wanted Real Madrid and Madrid wanted him, but Florentino Perez didn't want to pay the money.

"His agent called United, and he signed with him without telling me.

"The club was happy because they were selling shirts, you know the kids love Pogba – it was more commercial than anything on the pitch."

Pogba failed to live up to expectations during his second spell at United and Evra thinks that the midfielder – who is currently serving a four-year doping ban from football – was held back by his entourage.

The retired footballer said: "I feel like sometimes the press are not being fair with Paul Pogba. I can give you an example of when he played against Liverpool for the first time.

"The night before the game, I was on FaceTime to him, and I saw a lot of people in his room and he was signing shirts, so I asked him if he was ready for the game, and he said that he was.

"I remember that it was one of the worst games he played, so I spoke to him after the game, and he told me that I was right, and he wasn't focused. But it was his entourage, his entourage let him down."