Paul Pogba is the best midfielder in the world and will win the Ballon d’Or in the next five years, according to Manchester United and France teammate Anthony Martial.

The former Juventus star has started the new season in fine form, scoring in 4-0 wins against West Ham and Swansea City to leave United top of the Premier League table after two games.

And while Martial has a number of team goals that he hopes to share with Pogba, he also thinks his friend and team-mate can win the Ballon d’Or, a prize monopolised by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi over the last nine years.

‘We want to win a lot of trophies together at United and we also want to win the World Cup with France,’ Martial told MUTV.

‘If he continues to play and improve like he is doing then I think he is also going to win the Ballon d’Or award in the next five years.’

Martial already believes Pogba is the best midfielder on the planet, backing him to continue to improve in the hope of earning the prestigious award.

‘Paul is very mentally strong and he is very sure of himself. He is a big guy, he is very technical on the ball and he has lots of endurance,’ he added.

‘I would say he is probably the best midfield player in the world. He is still young, too, so he has a lot to work on and he can get even better.’

Pogba scored five goals in 30 Premier League appearances last season following his then world-record return from Juve.

– This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za