PARANOIA, ROWS AND THE SILENT TREATMENT
IT was bitter right until the very end.
And, ultimately, the fractured relationship between Jose Mourinho and his star-studded dressing room was the biggest single factor in the Special One’s downfall.
His troubled relationship with Paul Pogba was key because here was a World Cup winner, once the most expensive player in the world, being allowed to rot because of a simmering feud between manager and star player. Mirror Sport understands Mourinho did not say a word to Pogba after last week’s defeat at Valencia because he was so annoyed with the France midfielder’s performance.
He gave Pogba the cold shoulder all week and consigned him to the bench for Manchester United’s humiliating defeat at Liverpool on Sunday.
It was just the latest in a long line of spats between player and manager. But that was just another example of the paranoia and petty squabbles that proved to be Mourinho’s undoing at Old Trafford. And that was why United felt they had to act.
According to sources, the mood around the training ground improved immediately and immeasurably after the players learned of the coach’s departure.
It had been clear for weeks that Mourinho’s broken relationship with his players was beyond repair. So the decision was about the dynamics of the dressing room and Mourinho not being able to move with the times.
When it was suggested he had lost 90 per cent of the dressing room, the joke among the players was that they did not know who the remaining 10 per cent were.
It has looked for weeks as if the players had given up on the manager and, behind the scenes, the rifts, rows and fallouts have