Mourinho bemused by Pogba’s claims

MANCHESTER. - Paul Pogba’s recent comments in which he hinted he was unsettled at Manchester United have left manager Jose Mourinho “bemused”.

The United boss regularly clashed with the midfielder last season after the Frenchman failed to find his best form, but he was handed the captaincy and responded with what Mourinho called a “monster performance” in their 2-1 opening day success over Leicester City.

However, the player has since admitted that while he “will always give my best to the fans and my team-mates no matter what’s going on”, he added: “There are things, and there are things that I cannot say, otherwise I will get fined.”

Now the Daily Telegraph claim the words from Pogba caught Mourinho by surprise and frustrated his manager after he handed him the captain’s armband.

The report suggests Pogba’s words “came out of the blue” for Mourinho and while the manager knows “he can be provocative at times” in his never-ending quest “to get a response”, they say he “always expects his players to come to him to discuss matters face to face instead of in the public domain”.

Furthermore, it’s claimed Mourinho feels his recent comments to Pogba have been “constructive and fair” and that “the pair get on well together”.

That is indeed something Mourinho alluded to after Friday’s win when he stated: “When you repeat 1 000 times that my relationship with my players is not good, it’s a lie - and repeated 1 000 times it is still a lie.

“I like my players and my group. I enjoyed last season, the fight to finish where we finished and to manage the best position this club has had in five years. I’m going to enjoy this season.”

The report in the Telegraph concludes by saying Mourinho blames Raiola for creating problems between the player and the club, with Barcelona refusing to rule out a swoop before the transfer window closes in Spain on August 31. - AFP.