Man Utd icon is Liverpool star’s ‘role model’ – ‘he still is’

Liverpool star Jeremy Jacquet idolised a prominent Manchester United player during his formative years, and still does despite new loyalties to the Reds and what’s happened with the player since.

Jacquet is already looking like a dream signing for Liverpool, with the ex-Rennes centre-back leashing Premier League attackers with ease so far.

The 21-year-old has quickly formed a dominant partnership with Virgil van Dijk who is 14 years his senior.

Along with the clever selection of Ronald Araujo at right-back, Liverpool’s defence now looks a far meaner prospect, and kept three successive clean sheets in the league prior to the international break.

The £60m package Liverpool paid already looks a bargain, and Jacquet was recently rewarded for his superb efforts at club level with a debut for France.

Caps two and three quickly followed, and the signs suggest Jacquet will have a very long and fruitful career with Les Bleus.

But while Liverpool fans are overjoyed at the player they can call their own, they might not be so pleased to learn his role model is Paul Pogba.

Jeremy Jacquet idolises Paul Pogba

Jacquet told Telefoot: “Paul Pogba has always been my role model, and he still is. I used to watch him all the time.”

Man Utd broke their transfer record when bringing Pogba back to Old Trafford in 2016. The £89.3m transfer remains the most expensive in United’s history.

Pogba remains a symbol of the post-Fergie years, with flashes of brilliance intertwined with crippling inconsistency and general underachievement

The Frenchman is perhaps best remembered for his international career which did live up to expectation, being a near-automatic pick for France between the years of 2013-21.

During that span, Pogba racked up 91 caps, helped France reach the final of Euro 2016, and helped his country win the 2018 World Cup and 2020/21 Nations League.

Pogba’s career nosedived in 2023 when handed a four-year ban for failing a drugs test. The suspension was later reduced to 18 months, though the midfielder’s career has never recovered and after a brief spell with Monaco, he’s now a free agent.

Nevertheless, and given Pogba’s contributions to the French national side during his prime, it perhaps should not come as a surprise to discover Jacquet began to idolise one of his country’s best players during his formative years.