Wayne Rooney: Ravel Morrison was miles better than Paul Pogba

Morrison was tipped to become one of Europe’s top midfielders after dazzling at youth level, but a spate of off-field issues meant his career never took off.

Meanwhile, Pogba abandoned United in pursuit of first-team football in 2012, spending four years at Juventus before his big-money return to Old Trafford.

Morrison now barely gets a game after joining Middlesbrough on loan from Sheffield United in January.

"I remember watching Ravel Morrison thinking he had everything required for a player in his position," Rooney wrote in his Sunday Times column.

"He nutmegged Nemanja Vidic three times in the space of a minute in one training game.

"But he struggled with lifestyle and his environment which was sad for him — because I saw Paul Pogba come through, Jesse Lingard, all these players and Ravel was better than any of them by a country mile.

"He's proof that you can't escape the fact there are guidelines every player has to obey in professional football.

"Then you think how far you can go by being ultra-professional. Gary Neville, for instance. Gary's not a great football player but he worked in every minute of every training session and made the most of everything he had.

"Sir Alex Ferguson used to say the hardest thing in life is to work hard every day. Forget all your ability, strip everything back: if you can work hard every day, in whatever job you do you'll be successful."

Pogba won four consecutive Serie A titles at Juventus, won the Europa League with United and lifted the World Cup with France in 2018.