Alan Brazil: Paul Pogba may be a World Cup winner, but I’d take Graeme Souness over him every time

Paul Pogba claimed he didn’t know who Graeme Souness was.

Those of us who played against him will never forget the experience.

Pogba snapped back at my former Scotland team-mate’s criticism of his performances.

That led to Graeme countering: “The oldest saying in football comes to mind: ‘Put your medals on the table’. And I’ve got a big table.”

He has every right to question Pogba’s attitude.

When I look at the two men as footballers, there’s only one winner – and that’s Souness.

I’ve been disappointed with Pogba’s attitude during his time at Manchester United.

Souness was a 100% professional. He looked after himself incredibly well with the way he trained

There was no messing about. He had a job to do and, as soon as the first whistle went, he got on with it.

He would snap you in two with his tackling, could score a goal and had great vision when it came to passing.

Most of all, he was a leader.

Pogba is a World Cup winner, and you can never take that away from him.

He can also show you his bank account and claim that is how you measure success in the modern era.

It’s not the way I rate footballers, however, and I don’t think it’s how most fans decide who brings most to the game.

Pogba clearly has a flaw in his make-up. He looks so arrogant on the pitch.

In fairness, people who’ve played with him tell me that he’s not like that and is a really lovely guy.

But when things aren’t going for him on the park, he seems to go missing.

That was something that never happened with Souness.

I don’t see Pogba as a game-changer, yet that’s what you really want from your main midfielder.

Look at a player like Steven Gerrard. He pulled games out of the fire for Liverpool countless times.

Just remember the way he inspired comebacks in finals. There was the FA Cup final against West Ham and the Champions League against AC Milan in Istanbul.

Everyone tells me Pogba is such a great player, but I haven’t seen anything like that from him.

Souness was part of the greatest Liverpool side I played against.

They had outstanding talents like Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen and Ian Rush, but Graeme was the gaffer on the pitch. He drove everyone on to success.

I don’t think you treat a great club like United with the disdain that Pogba has at times.

We’ve seen him flying around the world when he’s been injured.

You just don’t do that. It’s taking the mickey out of the fans.

He should move away from Old Trafford and prove me wrong.

I was so lucky to play with a clutch of outstanding midfield players.

Many of them didn’t have Pogba’s athleticism, but dedication and determination brought out every ounce of natural talent.

Look at someone like my fellow countryman, John Wark.

He was a goal machine. Even in the gym at Ipswich, where we played wee five-a-side goals, he used to score some crackers.

I went to Spurs and played with Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles.

If you made the right movement, you got the pass. It was as simple as that.

At Manchester United, I met up with Bryan Robson.

Like Souness, what a winner this fella was. He would go through a brick wall for the team.

I learned how vital service from midfield was early in my career.

I was fortunate that Bobby Robson brought Frans Thijssen and Arnold Muhren to Ipswich.

I’d been in the first team and had scored a few goals, but I wasn’t really hitting it off.

Then Murhen arrived with his magnificent left foot.

He understood where I was going to run and the space to hit.

It was a bit like an American Football quarter-back, and we had an almost telepathic relationship.

I’ll always be grateful to him.