Mino hits back at Solskjaer

Pogba’s agent tells United manager to ‘inform himself better’ in furious Instam post

MINO RAIOLA has warned Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he should “inform himself better” in a furious social media post following his comments about Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.

Raiola, Pogba’s agent, suggested earlier this week that his client wishes to leave United and re-join former club Juventus, claiming that Italy is the player’s “second home”.

When asked about Raiola’s comments, Solskjaer said he had not spoken to Pogba about his United future and insisted that he is “our player and not Mino’s”.

Raiola appears to have taken offence to those remarks, hitting back at the United manager in a strongly-worded post on Instagram yesterday.

Raiola suggested Solskjaer was speaking about Pogba as though he was a “prisoner” and reminded the United manager of an unspecified conversation with his client last summer.

“Paul is not mine and for sure not Solskjaer’s property, Paul is Paul Pogba’s,” Raiola wrote, in a post later re-shared on Twitter.

“You cannot own a human being already for a long time in the UK or anywhere else. I hope Solskjaer does not want to suggest that Paul is his prisoner.

“But before Solskjaer makes comments about things I say he should inform himself better about the content of what has been said.

“I am a free citizen who can think and express my thoughts.

Until now I was maybe too nice to him.”

Raiola added: “Solskjaer should just remember things that he said in the summer to Paul. I think Solskjaer may be frustrated

Jack Grealish has found out the hard way the consequences of being man-marked in the Premier League but despite the special attention afforded to him by Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, he still put in a commanding performance.

No player has won more fouls in Europe’s top five leagues than Grealish this season and the 24-year-old would have known what to expect after Spurs boss Jose Mourinho repeatedly branded him a “very important player” in the pre-match news conference.

A late Son Heung-min winner separated the two sides at Villa Park but Spurs had done everything they could and failed to prevent Grealish from stamping his authority on the game.

Grealish was fouled off the ball too, but he took the challenges in his stride and created five chances – more than any player on the pitch.

Unflustered, he set about unlocking Spurs’ fragile defence that has kept only one clean sheet away all season.

His assist came from a set-piece, where Spurs could not touch him, as he floated in a corner for Bjorn Engels to head home. for different reasons and is now mixing up some issues.

“I think that Solskjaer has other things to worry about. At least if I was him I would.”

Former skipper Gary Neville called on United to cut ties with Raiola following the agent’s continued outbursts.

“It will end in Pogba

leaving

Manchester United,” Neville told Sky Sport.

“What the club need to do is make a stance on that agent. He has messed them around for years with Pogba and others. Why they allow themselves to be played I will never know.

“He is a serious thorn in the side for them. United should stand strong and not do business with him and tell players if they are represented by him we won’t do deals with you.’”

Neville then defended Solskjaer’s comments, insisting that Raiola’s game was to stir up further speculation about his client.

“Raiola is publicly trying to embarrass the club all the time. At the end of the day he is defending his player but what Solskjaer definitely wasn’t was aggressive.

“He was saying they spent £90 million (RM468m) on a player and they want him to stay at the club and play well.

“He wasn’t claiming ownership but Raiola wants to create situations where Pogba is out of the club and Raiola wants his next pay day.

“He has made tens of millions off of him and will continue to do so. He is the golden egg of Mino.” – The Independent/ Agencies

But Villa’s leaky defence – the worst in the league – proved to be their undoing and it begs the question whether Grealish, who took the captain’s armband last year during their push for promotion, has taken them as far as he can.

Villa’s spot in the Premier League is in jeopardy despite spending more than £140 million (RM728m) on transfers and yet their best player has been their own youth product.

Manager Dean Smith said the club, 17th, was “working very hard to ensure our best players stay” but Grealish’s precocious talent will have top sides circling, especially if Villa are relegated once again.

Grealish has gone from strength to strength in the league this season, with seven goals and six assists -more than any other English midfielder – and it is hard to see how England boss Gareth

Southgate can afford to ignore him any longer. – Reuters