Jose Mourinho blames Paul Pogba’s World Cup victory for broken relationship

Jose Mourinho points to Paul Pogba’s (31) 2018 World Cup win with France as the turning point in their disastrous relationship at Manchester United. 

In 2016, Pogba had become the statement purchase for Mourinho, a signing that was meant to be a shot across the bow to their rivals, the return of the former Premier League titans as the predominant force in England. 

Pogba was considered a Ballon d’Or winner in the making, perhaps the best midfielder in the world, and more than worthy of becoming the world’s most expensive player when United bought him from Juventus for £89 million. 

The relationship between Mourinho and Pogba started well enough with the two managing to win three trophies together in their first season, however by the time the World Cup came around just two years later, there were already cracks in the relationship. 

And by December of that year when Mourinho was sacked, there were reports of a full breakdown between the two, with neither appearing to fully admit where it had all gone wrong. Pogba at the time simply called it “strange.”

‘Football was not the most important thing for him’ – Jose Mourinho 

However, in an interview with The Telegraph, Mourinho was more than happy to spread some more light on the situation, stating, “The season after he won the 2018 World Cup, I think Paul (Pogba) came back different. The World Cup took him to a dimension where football was not the most important thing for him.” 

His former manager continued, “It happens to almost everyone at certain times in your career: you lose a little sense of who you are and what you should be” 

GFFN | Nick Hartland