We played for Manchester and people who died, says Pogba after Red Devils' European win

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney lifts the trophy as he and his team-mates celebrate winning the Europa League final (Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire).

Two days after a suicide bomber killed 22 people and wounded more than 50 at Manchester Arena after an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night United beat Ajax to lift the Europa League trophy for the first time, and French midfielder Pogba paid tribute to those who had lost their lives.

He said: “We know that things like this are very sad, all over the world: in Manchester, in London and in Paris, too. We had to focus because it was a very important game and we won for them and for the country.

“We played for England, we played for Manchester, and we played for the people who died.”

Referring to the cup win, which earns United a place in the Champions League next season, Pogba, who opened the scoring before Henrikh Mkhitaryan doubled the lead, added: “We knew we were going to play in the Europa League and the goal was to win the Europa League.

“We did it, so we’re very proud. Some say we had a bad season, but the prize is here. We worked hard and we’ll enjoy it now.”

Mkhitaryan was happy to fulfil his colleagues’ prophecies after helping the Red Devils reach the Stockholm showpiece with five European goals this term. The Armenian said: “Thank you to my team-mates because without them I couldn’t score so many goals.

“I’m happy that I scored here in the final because everyone was saying, ‘You’re going to score in the final’ and after the last game against Celta Vigo I was dreaming about scoring in the final and I did.

“We were fighting in two races: the Premier League and the Europa League. In the Premier League we couldn’t hit the target to go to the Champions League, but (last night) we gave all our effort and now we’re playing in the Champions League.”

The trophy fills a hole in United’s collection and means they join opponents Ajax, Bayern Munich and Juventus as the only clubs to have won all three major UEFA trophies, including the now-defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup, as well as the Club World Cup or the Intercontinental Cup.