Paul Pogba Includes Chris Waddle on Icon-Studded List of Childhood Influences
Manchester United and France midfielder Paul Pogba has surprisingly named ex-England winger Chris Waddle as one of his childhood idols alongside fairly typical heroes such as Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi.
Waddle, a World Cup semifinalist with England in 1990, was a hit at Marseille during a three-year spell between 1989 and 1992, winning three consecutive French titles and playing in the 1991 European Cup final against Red Star Belgrade.
Pogba wasn't born until a year after Waddle left Marseille, but as a young child he was made aware of the skilled English winger after watching videos of him in action.
"When I was young I always looked up to Zidane, Messi, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo," the 24-year-old explained to Argentine media outlet TyC Sports this week.
"I had videos of Maradona, Pele, Chris Waddle, Kaka, many players. I wanted to have all the qualities of those players," he added.
Pogba, who became the world's most expensive player when he joined United from Juventus for £89m in the summer of 2016, is still looking to others to learn even now and cites a number of his contemporaries as players he tries to mimic.
"Now I look more at players like [Andres] Iniesta, Yaya Toure, Kevin De Bruyne who is a young player and [Luka] Modric who is a very strong midfielder player. I look at them to try to be better," the powerful Frenchman explained.
