Reports: Manchester United banned Paul Pogba from the media
What's the story?
The Telegraph reports that the French midfielder, Paul Pogba has been banned from speaking in front of the media by Manchester United.
After the defeat against West Ham United, Pogba was asked to speak about the match but refused to do so stating that -
"I’ve been told I’m not allowed."
He even said that it would land him in hot water and he doesn't want to die because of it.
In case you didn't know
Paul Pogba was one of the sought-after talents in World football when he arrived in Manchester for his second spell at Old Trafford from the Italian giants, Juventus. Paul was magnificent for the Old Lady where he won four Seria A titles, two Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana. Along with Pirlo and Vidal in the midfield, Paul helped Juventus reach their first Champions League final in 12 years in 2015. During his time with the Italian outfit, he was in the 2015 UEFA Team of the Year as well.
Pogba was one of Mourinho's signings in his first season. He came to Old Trafford at a world record transfer fee at that time. Pogba has played 67 games in the Premier League so far scoring 13 goals and providing 15 assists in the process.
The heart of the matter
Despite not living up to the supporters expectations in his first season, there was a belief among the manager and the fans that Paul will eventually show his class in the upcoming season. But as things panned out, his lack of consistency and inability to play in a two-person midfield frustrated the manager who even benched him for few games.
Before the start of the current campaign, there was constant speculation of Pogba moving elsewhere from Manchester which got intensified by his media appearances and his unclear statements added fuel to the fire. He even took a jibe at the manager after a match with his 'attack, attack, 'attack' comments. Pogba had been speaking to the media a lot which has not gone down well with the manager nor the club.
Rumor Rating - 7/10
The Telegraph is a reliable source and Pogba's media appearances have been anything but negative throughout. It's not surprising to see that the club wants to keep him away from the media pressure and let him focus on his game only.
What's next?
Manchester United are going through a rough patch with all the negative talks surrounding their star man Paul Pogba. United needs him to step up and win games which have not been the case lately. The rift between the manager and the player has caused the club to suffer which is not all a good spectacle for the fans.
For the sake of Manchester United, its imperative that the player and the manager work in harmony and try to recover a season which is already moving towards to being a disaster.