'Grateful' Pogba says Juventus 'has a special place in my heart'

Paul Pogba didn't mean anything by it, Juventus fans.

The Manchester United midfielder drew the ire of some earlier this week when he jokingly described his time with the Italian club as a "holiday" before heading back to Old Trafford, but on Sunday moved to clarify the statement.

Pogba, who spent four years in Turin before making his world-record move to United this summer, released a lengthy statement on his Facebook account in which he praised the Bianconeri profusely.

"Juventus is the most important club of my professional career so far," he wrote.

"I am very grateful and happy for the love, trust and opportunity Juventus gave me. They played a crucial big role in making me the player I am today. In Juventus I developed and learned and I will always be thankful and grateful for that."

Pogba continued, taking aim at anyone who chose to interpret his earlier comments as a slight against his former team.

"In Juventus I developed and learned and I will always be thankful and grateful for that. I do not like or accept that my words are wrongly interpreted so let me be clear: Juventus has a special place in my heart, the tifosi, the club and the city. They made me feel home, always supported me and are fantastic.

"At the same time, Manchester is my childhood home and the club always had a special place in my heart. I will do my best to be successful here, make my club and fans proud of me and make my dreams come true.