Whose side are you on?
Paul Pogba and José Mourinho. It’s a loveless marriage, destined to end in divorce – it’s simply a matter of who blinks first.
Manchester United appear to have taken the side of the manager, according to reports, but fans seem to be mostly on Pogba’s side. Either way, one of them will have to go, and former Liverpool player and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher believes it should be Pogba.
Speaking before Liverpool’s EFL Cup tie against Chelsea on Wednesday evening, Carragher said Pogba is “not as good as he thinks,” and that United would be better off siding the coach.
“There’s a power play going on and I think Jose Mourinho is well aware there’s camera’s there,” Carragher said on Sky Sports, referencing the footage from United’s training session that surfaced earlier today.
“If you’re asking me who’s in the right between Pogba and Mourinho. Mourinho,” he added.
“They’ve both been there exactly the same amount of time, two years, Mourinho’s done more in that time.
“I don’t know if Pogba is worth the hassle for what he gives on the pitch.
“And there’s an idea that it’s one or the other. That if Mourinho goes you’ll see a new Pogba, you won’t, I can assure Manchester United fans you won’t.
“No one plays for two years and all of a sudden you change your manager and there’s a different player, we’ve seen what Pogba is as a player.
“He’s not as a good as he thinks he is, he’s not. He’s got talent but his big problem is understanding the game. It’s been a problem since he arrived and it hasn’t changed now.”
Carragher was asked about links between Pogba and Barcelona, and he doesn’t think he’d be a good fit.
“There’s talk of him moving on and leaving Manchester United. There’s other clubs in the world that haven’t got Pogba who have been very successful. Barcelona being one.
“But talk of Barcelona I can’t think of more ill-fitting player to Barcelona.
“Barcelona’s all about discipline, staying in your position, playing for the team. That is totally against everything Pogba plays for.
“Pogba plays for himself. Does his own thing.
“People saying Mourinho is causing problems, he’s taken the captaincy off him. But he’s not really a captain, is he, Pogba, in terms of how he plays?
“He’s letting his agent speak negatively about the club. How can that happen if he’s that man for Manchester United, fighting with the club, fighting with the manager.
“Mourinho never took the captaincy off John Terry.
“If things are going on behind the scenes, in hotels, in training, things his agent is putting out, talking that other clubs would want him, that can’t be right and would be one of the reasons why Mourinho would take it off him,
“Mourinho’s got his own problems at the end of the this season, in terms of if he’s the right manager for Manchester United.”
