Pogba trains in Matuidi shirt in show of support
Paul Pogba wore the club shirt of international team-mate Blaise Matuidi while training at home, after the Juventus star tested positive for coronavirus.
The Manchester United midfielder's long-term future appears uncertain, with his former club Juve one of the teams heavily linked with the FIFA World Cup winner should he depart Old Trafford.
Pogba spent four seasons with the Serie A champion between 2012 and 2016 before returning to United for what was a world-record fee at the time.
In a video uploaded to his Instagram account on Wednesday, Pogba was seen training at home wearing a Juve shirt with Blaise Matuidi's name and number on the back.
View this post on Instagram 🇬🇧 Supporting our Juventus and Sampdoria friends @blaisematuidiofficiel, @albinekdal and all athletes and people around the world who are facing this difficult moment.⠀ ⠀ Be strong, #StayAtHome and be safe 💪🏾!⠀⠀ ⠀ New training camp is called ...⠀⠀ Quarantine PP Arena, open 24/7! 🏋🏾♂⠀⠀ Having fun working at home 🏠 with my brother @victorlindelof!⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ (I know the cheeky ones will talk about the Juventus jersey 😏 I'm just supporting my friends ... that's all, nothing more 😁).⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 🇮🇹 A sostegno degli amici di Juventus e Sampdoria @blaisematuidiofficiel e @albinekdal e di tutti gli atleti e le persone del mondo⠀ ⠀ Siate forti, #StayAtHome e fate attenzione 💪🏾⠀ ⠀ Il nuovo campo di allenamento si chiama… ⠀ Quarantena PP Arena, aperto 24 ore su 24 🏋🏾♀⠀ Mi diverto ad allenarmi a casa 🏠 con il mio amico @victorlindelof!⠀ ⠀ (So che qualche malizioso parlerà del fatto che indosso la maglia della Juventus 😏, ma lo faccio solo per dare un segno di supporto al mio amico, non c’è nessun’altra ragione 😁). A post shared by Paul Labile Pogba (@paulpogba) on Mar 18, 2020 at 9:14am PDT
However, the Frenchman explained that he and United team-mate Victor Lindelof - who was spotted in Albin Ekdal's Sampdoria jersey - were simply supporting their international team-mates after both Serie A players tested positive for coronavirus.
"New training camp is called... Quarantine PP Arena, open 24/7!" Pogba wrote on Instagram.
"Having fun working at home with my brother @victorlindelof.
"Supporting our friends @blaisematuidiofficiel and @albinekdal and all athletes and people around the world!
"Be strong, #StayAtHome and be safe!
"(I know the cheeky ones will talk about the Juventus jersey [but] I'm just supporting my friends ... that's all, nothing more)."
Matuidi replied to Pogba's post by saying: "Thank you my brother this touched me love u.
"And glad to see you touch the ball."
Pogba has not played for United since December 26 having undergone surgery on a right ankle injury in January.
He was due to return to team training on Tuesday but United cancelled their session after the United Kingdom government urged citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and social contact.
