Paul Pogba has opened up on the disintegration of his relationship with former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and claims he remains in the dark as to why he was effectively frozen out by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s predecessor.
Mourinho sanctioned the deal which saw Pogba return to Old Trafford from Juventus in the summer of 2017 and intended to make him the centre-piece of a new-look United side, capable of challenging for the league title.
Pogba, however, was capable of showing only fleeting glimpses of the talent which persuaded United to spend a British record fee on him as he failed to gain the full trust of his manager.
The pair’s relationship deteriorated to such an extent that Pogba was stripped of the vice-captaincy following a bizarre training ground bust-up and was dropped for several high-profile fixtures with Mourinho selecting then rookie Scott McTominay instead.
Pogba has since re-established himself as a key component of an upwardly mobile Solskjaer side that has made significant progress this season and the France international has credited his current boss with helping to spark him back into his best form.
He told Sky Sports: ‘What I have now with Ole is different, he wouldn’t go against the players. He wouldn’t go against the players.
‘Maybe Ole wouldn’t pick them, but it’s not like he puts them on the side like they don’t exist anymore. That’s the difference between Mourinho and Ole.
‘Once I had a great relationship with Mourinho, everybody saw that, and the next day you don’t know what happened. That’s the strange thing I had with Mourinho and I cannot explain to you because even I don’t know. So, yeah.’
Pogba is not the only United player to have rebuilt his career under Solskjaer having been scapegoated by Mourinho, with Luke Shaw also having benefited greatly from the Norwegian’s softer man-management style.
‘Maybe [Solskjaer’s methods work] because he is a bit closer to the people,’ Pogba explained.
‘Every coach has their own way to coach and deal with players, and as a player you have to adapt. Sometimes it doesn’t suit you and sometimes it does.
‘Ole has helped Luke a lot, it was a difficult season with Luke and Mourinho, and he has proved he has the quality he always had and the trust of the manager.’
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