A snippet of footage has emerged that plays in nicely to the unfolding ‘schism’ narrative betwixt and between Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba at Manchester United.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup exit to Derby, it was reported that Mourinho had stripped Pogba of the United vice-captaincy after the midfielder once again criticised his manager’s propensity for conservative tactics in the wake of Saturday’s disappointing 1-1 draw against Wolves.
Speaking to reporters after the match, Pogba grumbled that United should follow the will of the Old Trafford crowd and “attack, attack, attack” when playing at home – comments that reportedly irked Mourinho sufficiently to decree that the Frenchman would never captain his United team again.
Pogba was then left out of the cup squad entirely, sitting up in the stands to watch United get bumped out at the third-round stage on penalties.
The very next morning, Sky Sports cameras captured the moment Pogba reported for training at Carrington, exchanging a high-five or two with teammates before Mournho meandered across and put an abrupt stop to it with some form of acerbic comment…
JUST IN! 😳
Frosty footage just in from @ManUtd‘s training session between Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho… ❄
What has been said between the pair this morning? 👀 pic.twitter.com/nRiTEgDJlH
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) 26 September 2018
Not that we wish to be lulled into the soap opera, but that really doesn’t look good, or healthy, or conducive to getting a decent, consistent performance level out of Pogba.
What a palaver.