Underrated Liverpool ace dubbed best professional Paul Pogba's ever seen – 'Learn from him'

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Paul Pogba has admitted he needs to learn from former Liverpool star Takumi Minamino, having been blown away by the Japan international since joining AS Monaco.

The Frenchman is yet to make his debut for the Ligue 1 outfit following a difficult three years.

The midfielder is looking to rebuild his career back in his homeland, having been plagued by injuries, seen his contract with Juventus terminated and served an 18-month doping ban since leaving Manchester United.

He endured an injury-plagued final season at Old Trafford back in 2021/22, with his final appearance for the Red Devils coming when he was forced off early on their 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in April.

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Pogba returned to Juventus on a free transfer at the end of the season, only to see his injury woes continue.

He was then later provisionally suspended from playing due to a failure of a drug test in September 2023.

The midfielder’s contract with Juventus was terminated last November - having made just 12 outings for the club - despite Pogba successfully appealing his four-year doping suspension after being found guilty of taking the banned substance DHEA.

The ban had been reduced to 18 months in October 2024, freeing him up to begin training and begin playing from January 2025 and March 2025, respectively.

Pogba had to wait until June to find a new club as he signed a two-year contract with Monaco.

But he is yet to feature for his side as he continues to work on regaining match fitness and sharpness, having not featured competitively since September 2023, when he came off the bench during Juventus' clash with Empoli.

Minamino is one player who has certainly made an impact on Pogba at the training ground since he joined Monaco, with the France international admitting he needs to learn from the Japanese’s example.

“Takumi is always the first one to arrive at training and the last to leave,” he told Sportiva.

“I’ve never seen a player so disciplined yet enjoying football so much at the same time.

“That’s something I need to learn from him.

“When you watch him play, you can clearly see he’s always thinking on the pitch.

“He’s incredibly smart, and his movement shows just how deeply he understands the game.”

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Minamino and Pogba never directly faced off as opponents during their respective stints at Liverpool and Manchester United, with the Japanese left as an unused substitute on each of the three occasions the Reds faced off against a Reds Devils side including his new team-mate.

The forward – who impressed in spells for Liverpool – made 55 appearances during two-and-a-half seasons at Anfield, returning 14 goals and three assists as he helped Jurgen Klopp’s side win the Premier League in 2020 and both the League Cup and FA Cup in 2022, with many fans feeling he was underrated during his time on Merseyside.

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Leaving for Monaco in an initial £12.9m deal in June 2022, Minamino has made 105 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit to date, returning 21 goals and 17 assists.