On the face of it, asking if a team could be stronger having lost the most expensive player in the history of football would seem ludicrous, but not according to one Juventus legend.
Edgar Davids made well over 200 appearances for the Bianconeri during his seven-year stay in Turin and has been a keen observer of the club ever since his departure in 2004.
And the ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder believes his former side have improved since selling Paul Pogba to Manchester United for £89.3m last summer.
Ten days after Pogba scored in the Europa League final, Juventus have the chance to clinch an historic treble as they face Real Madrid in the Champions League final – live on BT Sport.
Davids also knows Pogba on a personal level, joining in with his signature ‘dab’ celebration at the 2015 Ballon d'Or ceremony, but still believes Juve have improved without the Frenchman.
“Losing Pogba has helped the development of Juventus,” said Davids.
“The reason why, is that they then had that money to spend in other areas and re-build the team and even replace the likes of Andrea Pirlo who they lost before that.
“As a player Pogba is still unbelievable and could still fit in that Juventus team of now, but thanks to him they have become the Juventus of now.”
The bulk of the world-record fee the Italian giants received for Pogba was spent on striker Gonzalo Higuain, his £75m transfer coincidentally making him the fourth most expensive footballer of all time.
Manager Massimiliano Allegri used the remainder of the money to help fund his re-building job, with Pogba the fifth player from the 2015 Champions League final starting line-up to leave The Old Lady within a year of that match.
Alongside Higuain, Miralem Pjanic and Dani Alves also arrived last summer and Juventus have looked the most balanced side in Europe this season – with plenty of attacking flair to complement their ever-dependable backline.
So while Juventus will look to end their 21-year wait for a European trophy in Cardiff this Saturday, what next for Pogba?
Davids added: “I think he [Pogba] can become the best player in the world in the future, but he needs to work hard and have the right team-mates.
“He’s the biggest talent in the Man Utd team and he has a heavy price tag, but he has still not reached his full potential. When I watch him he shows signs of brilliance that are uncanny.
“But he needs to continue developing and sometimes the first season in a new team isn’t easy and certain players need more time than others to adapt.”
The 24-year-old scored nine times and notched up six assists in 51 games for Jose Mourinho’s men, a marginally worse return than what he produced for Juventus in the three previous seasons.
Despite his key statistics suggesting a relatively strong campaign, Pogba has come in for a great deal of scrutiny and criticism since returning to Old Trafford.
The debate about ‘what type of midfielder he is’ will undoubtedly rumble on, as well as question marks over his ability to play in a two in the centre of the park.
But one thing is for certain, both Pogba and Davids will be cheering on Juventus as they go up against Real Madrid at the Principality Stadium on Saturday night.
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