Real issue between Mourinho, Pogba

Former Chelsea defender William Gallas has explained what he thinks is really going on in the row between Jose Mourinho and Manchester United star player Paul Pogba. The France international looks to be going through a difficult time at Old Trafford, but Gallas insists he should take any criticism coming his way as a compliment.

Plenty has been expected of Pogba since his move to United last summer, but he’s struggled in Mourinho’s system and there’s been plenty of talk about a fall-out between the pair of late. The Daily Record have stated the 24-year-old is unhappy about his position in Mourinho’s side, with the Sun linking him with a possible exit to Real Madrid and Don Balon also claiming he’s on Barcelona’s radar as his manager looks to sell him this summer.

United fans will hope there’s not as much to it as there seems, and Gallas may have eased their fears by explaining that this is what Mourinho does with his best players. The Frenchman played under Mourinho at Chelsea and knows him well, stating that this is the way he looks to get a reaction from players he really rates. ‘Whether it was me or whether it was someone else, he has always had a go at his players,’ Gallas told SFR Sport, as translated by the Metro. ‘If he does that it’s because he likes you and thinks you have quality. He wants you to be 100 per cent, which is why he has had a go at Paul because he knows Paul can do a lot better.

‘The fact he has had a go is going to make him react. You saw that after he came off the bench – he didn’t lose a single ball.

‘Paul is now focused on his football more than anything else. I think it’ll do him a lot of good, and I think we’ll see a stronger Paul Pogba, the Paul Pogba that we saw at Juventus.’