Mourinho reportedly labels Paul Pogba as a 'virus' after Southampton draw
What's the story?
According to the Daily Mail, Jose Mourinho has accused Paul Pogba of not respecting the efforts of his teammates and compared his behaviour to that of a virus in front of the entire Manchester United squad after yesterday's draw against the struggling Southampton.
The increasingly shaky relationship between the Portuguese coach and the French superstar was dealt a further blow by the recent comments made by Mourinho, and it is believed that this was due to Pogba's sup-bar performance against the Saints in their recent fixture.
The manager believes that the midfielder's attitude is having a negative influence on the other players of his squad.
In case you didn't know...
Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho had a public fallout in September reportedly over the player's social media usage.
Pogba was also stripped of the Manchester United vice-captaincy by Mourinho that month, which many experts, including Jamie Redknapp, believed was a clear sign of the widening rift between the player and the manager.
The World Cup winner was heavily linked with a move away from the Old Trafford to La Liga with Barcelona this summer.
The heart of the matter...
In the aftermath of a disappointing 2-2 draw at the St. Mary's Stadium, in which Manchester United were two goals behind just 20 minutes from kick-off, the Daily Record (Via the Daily Mail) reported that Mourinho had called Pogba a virus in front of the entire squad during the post-match dressing down.
It is believed that the manager didn't mince his words and told him that: (Via Dailymail)
"You don't play. You don't respect players and supporters. And you kill the mentality of the good honest people around you."
Even in the post-match interview, he took an indirect jab at the 25-year old, praising the other two midfielders and blaming him for lost possession in the midfield. The Daily Record quoted him saying:
“I thought Scott (McTominay) and (Nemanja) Matic, they did a very positive job for two midfield players (playing in defense), and Phil Jones leads that group of three in a way that we were totally in control. I would say the only problem that we had was that the two attacking players didn't have enough continuity because in midfield(read due to Pogba) we lost too many balls."
What's next?
With another draw in the Premier League, Mourinho's men find themselves in the seventh spot, lagging behind league leaders and city rivals Manchester City by a whopping 16 points.
On the other hand, the rumors regarding Pogba's future suggest that the player might leave the Old Trafford for good as soon as this January.