'It's hard for me to say' — Pogba addresses criticisms against Mbappe

Paul Pogba has come to the defence of Kylian Mbappe following the most recent wave of criticisms targeted at the France national team captain. 

Mbappe, 25, has been scapegoated by many following a disappointing campaign from Real Madrid. However, his national teammate, Pogba, thinks the criticisms are undue. 

The former Monaco forward has a slow start to his Real Madrid career, leading many to doubt his signing. However, he soon turned things around, winning the Pichichi and European Golden Shoe. 

Mbappe's brilliance did not bring desired collective success, however, as Real Madrid lost out on LALIGA and the Supercopa De España to Barcelona and were embarrassed out of the Champions League by Arsenal. 

They had the chance to redeem their season via the Club World Cup but were romped by Paris Saint-Germain, 4-0, which brought to fore the poor defensive work rate in Real Madrid's frontline—Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius. 

The Frenchman caught most of the heat, with videos of Luis Enrique urging him to improve his defensive contributions while he was still a PSG player making the rounds. Mbappe was criticised by fans and the press. Even ex-players like Toni Kroos chimed in, with statements like “Good players also have to defend.”

During a recent interview, Pogba swung in defence of Mbappe, revealing how much he respected the France international. 

“Mbappé has been criticised for everything, but he's the Pichichi, top scorer in Europe. It's hard for me to say, but I respect him,” Pogba said.