Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba hit out at former manager and current Tottenham Hotspur boss over his treatment of his players in ...
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba hit out at former manager and current Tottenham Hotspur boss over his treatment of his players in his time at Old Trafford.
The 28-year-old Pogba had a notable falling out with Mourinho during the Portuguese manager's final weeks at the helm of the Red Devils, stripping the France international of his vice-captaincy.
In an interview with Sky Sports that will air in full ahead of United's match with Burnley on Sunday, Pogba said that current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer supports his players stands in contrast to Mourinho.
"What I have now with Ole is different, he wouldn't go against the players," Pogba said. "He wouldn't go against the players. Maybe Ole wouldn't pick them, but it's not like he puts them on the side like they don't exist anymore. That's the difference between Mourinho and Ole."
World Cup winner Pogba says his relationship with Mourinho deteriorated in an instant.
"Once I had a great relationship with Mourinho, everybody saw that, and the next day you don't know what happened," Pogba said. "That's the strange thing I had with Mourinho and I cannot explain to you because even I don't know."
Pogba cites Solskjaer's work in rehabilitating England left-back Luke Shaw's confidence that was rattled by Mourinho as proof of their different approaches. Under Solskjaer, Shaw has re-emerged as one of the best left-backs in the Premier League after years of yo-yoing in and out of the United team with Mourinho.
"Maybe [Solskjaer's methods work] because he is a bit closer to the people," Pogba said. "Every coach has their own way to coach and deal with players, and as a player you have to adapt. Sometimes it doesn't suit you and sometimes it does. Ole has helped Luke a lot, it was a difficult season with Luke and Mourinho, and he has proved he has the quality he always had and the trust of the manager."
Pogba also dismissed Mourinho's row with Solskjaer following United's 3-1 win over Spurs last weekend.
Mourinho and Solskjaer had an animated conversation at halftime and the Spurs boss hit out at the Norwegian after the match when Solskjaer criticized Spurs midfielder Son Heung-min for embellishing contact from Scott McTominay's errant hand to the face that resulted in Edinson Cavani's opening goal being rescinded due to the foul after a VAR check.
"I don't know what happened, I'm sure Mourinho said something that would make people speak, that's what he does," Pogba said. "We got the result we wanted, Ole knows it and we enjoyed that moment because we know Mourinho and we know what he likes. We don't need this [war of words], we just focus on us. We won the game, he lost the game and he doesn't want to speak about the game, he wants to speak about the dad of someone, that's what he does. Everybody knows him, it's very Mourinho."
With seven matches remaining in the season, United sits second in the table on 63 points, firmly in a Champions League qualification spot and nine points clear of fifth-place Chelsea.
The team advanced to the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday with a 2-0 win over La Liga side Granada, winning the quarterfinals tie 4-0 on aggregate to set up a date with Roma, who currently sit seventh in Serie A.
It is the fifth cup competition semi-final the Red Devils have reached under Solskjaer, but United has yet to advance to any final.
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