Paul, Jose rift beyond repair

– Paul Pogba’s relationship with Jose Mourinho appears to be fractured beyond repair after the Manchester United boss said the French World Cup star would not captain the side again.

Fresh from playing a pivotal role in France’s World Cup success, the midfielder has started to deliver this season – scoring four times so far and deputising as captain for Antonio Valencia.

But Mourinho appears to have lost patience after Pogba urged United to attack more following a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, implicitly criticising the cautious approach of his boss at a club famed for gung-ho football.

According to The Times, Mourinho informed Pogba of his decision on the captaincy in front of his team-mates on Tuesday, claiming the 25-year-old “doesn’t represent what a captain is and Manchester United is bigger than anyone”.

After Tuesday’s shock League Cup defeat against Derby County on penalties, for which Pogba was rested, the Portuguese said there would be “no fall-out at all, no problem at all”.

But the often-abrasive Mourinho has a history of falling out with high-profile players. While at Real Madrid he demoted Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas and at Chelsea he did not see eye-to-eye with Juan Mata.

It looks increasingly likely Mourinho will be unable to repair his relationship with Pogba, and it seems to be more a question of who will be first to leave the club.

Pogba may get a move to Barcelona that was mooted in August, with the Daily Mail yesterday reporting he has told Mourinho he wants to leave for Spain.

However, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is reportedly desperate not to lose the biggest global star at the club.

And Mourinho is again favourite with one leading bookmaker to be the first Premier League manager sacked this season.

This month he cited German philosopher Georg Hegel, and he may be mindful of one of his quotes when it comes to Pogba: “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.” –

London

[Pogba] doesn’t represent what a captain is and Manchester United is bigger than anyone.

Jose Mourinho, Manchester United manager