World Cup winner Paul Pogba has explained why he had a huge fall out with Jose Mourinho and how things had changed for the worse at Old Trafford, including the food
Paul Pogba has admitted Jose Mourinho was ‘p***** off’ with him during his second spell as a Manchester United player.
But he pointed the finger at the media’s constant questions about his fitness and whether he wanted to leave for their high-profile fallout at Old Trafford. The France World Cup winner, who returned to United for a then world-record £89million from Juventus in 2016, was involved in several training ground spats and stare downs.
These escalated after Mourinho stripped Pogba of the vice-captaincy for having a dig at the team’s style of play, before the Portuguese boss was sacked in December 2018. Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Pogba – who is struggling to rekindle his career at Monaco after returning to football following an 18-month doping ban – claims the relationship between the two superstars began to suffer due to his injury problems.
Pogba said: “You don’t want to be mean, I don’t have any problem with any coaches I always respect, always respect. They tell me what to do. They are the boss. That’s the truth. They are the boss. They decide if you play or not.
“We were very cool at the start, sending messages and stuff like that. He’s a really funny man. He’s a funny guy. He’s really special, to be honest. And after a time, I think the injuries created that [a breakdown in relations].
“When always the media ask him questions about me, maybe makes him a bit like, “OK is he done?” And this is the problem also with me, like a lot of people they love to ask about me. Always Paul, Paul, Paul, and that probably p***ed him off.”
Pogba had previously put the bad blood between the pair first surfaced when Mourinho sent a picture of him to his now deceased agent Mino Raiola while he was recovering from injury.
The midfielder was furious and claims Mourinho questioned his decision to take a rehab break to the United States and forwarded to Raiola a picture of him and his wife Zulay ‘enjoying themselves’ in Miami.
Pogba also opened up on the differences at United from his first spell as a rising star in the youth team alongside Jesse Lingard and Ravel Morrison, to his second stint at the club, including the food. He revealed he told compatriot and former Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra not long after his return that he wasn’t sure he would see out his contract.
“I talked to Pat and said everything is different. The energy is different,” Pogba told Ferdinand.
“I said when I left, it wasn’t like that. You came to Manchester United with a clear idea of the culture of Manchester United. And it was a bit… it was different. Even the food, everything inside was different. It was a bit weird.
“I told Pat I don’t know if I’ll finish my contract basically here because I don’t feel like it’s the same. It’s not the same club as when I left.’
Pogba saw out his deal at United before leaving Old Trafford on a free transfer to return to Juventus in the summer of 2022.
But his stint back in Italy was marred by injuries and being banned for doping. He was initially suspended for four years before the ban was reduced to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The 2018 World Cup winner left Juventus in November 2024 and went seven months without a club before signing for Monaco on a two-year deal.