Dimitar Berbatov has joked that Paul Pogba used to 'get on his nerves' in training during the Frenchman's first spell at Manchester United.

The Bulgarian striker watched Pogba break into the Red Devils' first team in 2011-12, making seven appearances in all competitions before heading off to Juventus.

Pogba has since returned to Old Trafford and his recent form has led to rumoured interest from Real Madrid, which the 26-year-old refused to play down earlier this week.

Berbatov expects his ex-teammate to stay at Old Trafford for the long term, however, despite his public flirting with Los Blancos.

"Paul Pogba is rarely too far away from the headlines but I'm not concerned about his Real Madrid quotes this week," he told Betfair. "I supported lots of other teams when I played for United because I was a fan of good football. I admired clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich.

"I don't think there is anything to worry about here. We live in a world where you can say what you want and I can imagine the words being taken out of context. Paul will be a United player for a long time, as long as he and the club want to be together. I remember Paul coming to play with the first team, training with us.

"He was just enjoying being in Manchester and was good friends with the first team and when you're happy you're settled. He caused a stir in training straightaway. He was tall, athletic, would get the ball from me, intercept it and get on my nerves.

"I knew I had to take this guy seriously because he had something. You could see from the beginning that he had technical ability, vision of the game, where to position himself and now you can see the result - he is one of the best in the world."

Pogba has played a direct part in 24 goals in 43 matches for United this season.