Paul Pogba, currently a Monaco player after serving an 18-month doping ban, has confessed on the podcast ‘Rio Ferdinand Presents‘ the reasons for his divorce from Jose Mourinho when they were together at Manchester United. The 33-year-old French midfielder claims that Mourinho exploded after constant questions about his injury problems and his future at Old Trafford.
I don’t want to be rude, I have no problem with any coach. I always respect them. That’s the truth. They are the bosses
Paul Pogba returned to Manchester United in 2016 in a transfer worth more than 100 million euros, and Mourinho ended up leaving the Red Devils’ bench in December 2018.
“I don’t want to be rude, I don’t have any problem with any coach. I always respect them, I always respect them. They tell me what to do. They are the bosses. That’s the truth. They are the bosses. They decide whether you play or not,” said the Frenchman.
Pogba: “At first, Mourinho and I got on very well, we texted each other. He’s a very funny guy”
Paul Pogba said of his relationship with Mourinho: “At the beginning we got on very well, we sent each other messages and stuff. He’s a very funny guy. He’s really special, to be honest. And after a while, I think injuries caused that (a distancing in the relationship).”
“When the media was constantly asking him about me, maybe it makes him think: ‘Is he finished yet?’ And that’s also my problem: like a lot of people, they love to ask about me. Always Paul, Paul, Paul, and that probably annoyed him,” he shared.
A paparazzi took a picture of Zulay and me. Mou sent the photo to Mino… I said ‘who do you think I am?'”
Paul Pogba confirmed that his relationship with Mourinho began to deteriorate when the Portuguese coach sent a photo of him with his wife (Zulay) to his agent, Mino Raiola, while he was recovering from injury, which infuriated the player.
“It all started when I got injured. I said I was going to Miami to rehab. A paparazzi took a picture of Zulay and me. Mou sent the photo to Mino. I didn’t like it at all. He said I was on vacation when we were working like crazy. I said to Mourinho: ‘Really? I’m injured. I train three times a day here. Who do you think I am?’ It was the first time I had a problem with my coach,” Pogba told Amazon Prime Video in 2022.
Mou’s intention with that photo was to question Pogba’s decision to take a break to rehabilitate in the United States.
Mourinho called Pogba a “virus” and the two ended up arguing in training
According to the French footballer, Mourinho cemented his break-up with him by stripping him of the vice-captaincy and making sarcastic comments about his performance. Mou even went so far as to call Pogba a “virus”.
The relationship between Pogba and Mourinho finally broke down after cameras caught an argument between the two during a training session.
Pogba ran down his contract at United before leaving Old Trafford as a free agent to rejoin Juventus in the summer of 2022.
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