Paul Pogba stopped by police and put in back of patrol car days before Premier League return

World Cup-winner had his Rolls Royce seized by police because it was still on French registration plates, with the incident an unwelcome distraction ahead of what could be his first game in six months

Paul Pogba was pulled over and placed in the back of a police car just one day before Manchester United’s return to Premier league action, with the midfielder having his six-figure Rolls Royce seized by authorities.

The 27-year-old was travelling on Hale Road in Cheshire near his home when a police car reportedly followed him off the M56 motorway and pulled him over when he exited near Manchester Airport.

After using their blue lights to stop Pogba - who was driving the Rolls Royce Wraith Black Badge worth around £330,000 - the French midfielder was asked to sit in the back of the patrol car while his details were checked, and the car was seized due to running on French registration plates.

Under UK law, any foreign car that has been in the country for more than six months in a single year must be registered with the DVLA and fitted with UK number plates. But if the owner is a permanent resident of the UK, the window to register a vehicle with the DVLA is just two weeks once it is imported.

A statement from Greater Manchester Police read: “At around 12.55pm, police on a routine patrol in the Trafford area stopped a vehicle on Hale Road.

“The vehicle was seized under section 165 of the Road Traffic Act.

“A 27-year-old man has been reported for driving otherwise in accordance with a UK driving licence.”

Pogba’s sanction will not be a hefty one though. He will have to pay £150 to retrieve the car within seven days plus an additional £20 for each day it is held, and he will have to fit it with British registration plates to ensure it is legal to drive in the UK.

But the incident is an unwelcome distraction ahead of his return to Premier League action on Friday night as United resume their season with a trip to Tottenham.

Pogba is set to make his first appearance in six months (Getty) (AFP via Getty Images)

Football resumed this week following a 100-day suspension of the top flight, but Pogba’s lay-off has been considerably longer due to injury. The 2018 World Cup-winner has not played a minute since Boxing Day last year after undergoing surgery on his foot, having made just eight appearances across the 2019/20 season. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted that he will not rush Pogba back too quickly, although he is expected to start the clash with Spurs and could form an exciting partnership with January signing Bruno Fernandes, with the Portuguese hitting the ground running before the season was halted.

United are currently placed in fifth in the Premier League table, a position which could see them qualify for the Champions League if Manchester City’s European ban is upheld this summer. But they find themselves just four points ahead of eight-placed Spurs, with Sheffield United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal also in the hunt for what could be the final Champions League-qualifying position.