London, Jan 17: Juventus and Italy's football defender Giorgio Chiellini has compared former teammate and Manchester United player Paul Pogba to basketball star LeBron James and sprint legend Usain Bolt.

All leagues special site

"We've changed players and now we are a side like any other," Chiellini told Sky Sport in an interview in Italy.

"We're not used to losing and, in addition to this, we've lost a player like Pogba who was the LeBron James of football and, even when you didn't notice him, he was impressive," he added.

In a separate interview with Sport Mediaset, Chiellini said, "Pogba was our Usain Bolt. He allowed us to play in a certain way. Now we've changed. We're working on it and (manager Massimiliano) Allegri is not an idiot."

Juventus are missing the highly rated midfielder who has impressed of late at United, Chiellini said.

Pogba was with Juventus from 2012 to 2016, before re-joining his former club United in the summer for a world record transfer fee.

IANS