Pogba: I must be more decisive like Messi and Ronaldo

The 23-year-old, who has been linked with big-money moves to the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City during the close-season, is already being touted as a potential future Ballon d'Or award winner.

Published : Jun 10, 2016 23:08 IST , Paris

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba shows off his winner's medal.
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba shows off his winner's medal.
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Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba shows off his winner's medal.

Paul Pogba says he must make more telling contributions in every match like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to realise his dream of winning the prestigious Ballon d'Or award.

Juventus midfielder Pogba has no shortage of admirers after another brilliant season in which he helped the Bianconeri to its fifth straight Serie A title. The 23-year-old, who has been linked with big-money moves to the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City during the close-season, is already being touted as a potential future Ballon d'Or award winner.

Pogba will look to add weight to those suggestions by playing a starring role for host France at Euro 2016, with Les Bleus set to start its campaign against Romania in Paris on Friday.

But the former Manchester United midfielder says he has plenty of room for improvement, and pointed to the impact Barca star Messi and Madrid talisman Ronaldo have on each game as an example of the standards he has to reach.

"Goals for one. Titles too. I need to improve my performances during games and be more decisive," Pogba replied when asked by L'Equipe what Messi and Ronaldo have that he does not. "Messi and Cristiano score against every team, and not just in one or two seasons, during their whole careers."

"I'd love to win the Ballon d'Or. It's a dream for me…the thought's always in a corner of my head. I'm not saying I will win it, just that I'd like to. It's an objective, like winning the Champions League. Some might say I'm crazy, but I like to do crazy things. Anyway, at the moment there are two phenomenal players scoring 60 goals a season."

Pogba also insists that he wants to be recognised as the best for his own unique style, while highlighting former Juve team-mate Andrea Pirlo as one of his greatest role models.

"I want to be the best, I don't want to be like everyone else. When I do something, I like to differentiate myself from the rest and I don't like to lose," he added. "Pirlo is the model player. He's always sure of himself. In the 88th minute of a match when tension is high, he'll remain cool as ice and do something decisive - a cutting pass or a shot outside the box. He's always precise."

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