The tiff between Pogba and Mourinho takes another twist

The tiff between Pogba and Mourinho takes another twist

Having managed to stay out of the José Mourinho v Paul Pogba debate for virtually it’s entire existence, the fact that the Portuguese has decided to talk about it has certainly piqued a little interest.

As far as the bigwigs at Old Trafford are concerned Pogba is a goldmine so the last thing they want is for him to fall out with his manager and leave. Yes, they would get more than their money back if they sold him but, the chances are, they have already had that money back with shirt sales, appearances and deals with sponsors so selling him, for them, would be detrimental to the cause.

Mourinho, on the other hand, doesn’t care about all that. He just wants his players to do as he tells them and, if possible, not speak to the press or any type of social media. He would quite like it if they could be cocooned when not under his supervision and only unwrapped for training and games.


But now his demeanour, especially regarding Paul Pogba, appears to have changed. His latest press conference, before the squad cleared off to Brighton to eat some rock and play the locals, was all about how wonderful Pogba really is and how he and Mourinho have never fallen out or had a cross word with each other.

The Frenchman, of course, wasn’t there to either agree with or refute Mourinho’s monologue but one gets the impression that it wouldn’t really have been necessary. The chances are that Pogba will have quite enjoyed what he heard.

The question now is whether or not Mourinho is being genuine or acting under instruction. There is a suspicion that he has been told to heal any rift there may be with one of his star players and, if he does and Pogba returns to his best, then this will be in the best interest of all concerned.

If he hasn’t and these comments are coming from the heart then that is even better news because it means that there never was a major problem but, to be fair, the way Pogba has been recently, that is highly unlikely. Something or somebody lit a fire and everybody witnessed the smoke.

The mutterings of a move back to Juventus or to Barcelona weren’t just figments of everybody’s imagination, they were real.

Now it may have been at Mino Raiola’s instigation because he is quite famous for not being a problem solver. Whenever one of his clients has trouble with his club Raiola immediately looks for another club. He doesn’t see himself as a babysitter, more of a facilitator and there is certainly more money in the latter than the former.

The best outcome, for Manchester United and Paul Pogba, is for this perceived tiff to be resolved as neither really wants to part company with the other.

José Mourinho may just have provided that box of chocolates and bunch of flowers that was required for Pogba to stop crying.

Now maybe they can both get down to the business of trying to win the Premier League, after all, that is what the fans want.