What's the story?
The Sun reports that Manchester United star Paul Pogba has told his team-mates to choose between him and Mourinho, else he will leave in January if the manager stays.
It's believed that he is embarrassed with the formation and the style of play Mourinho adopted which the players are finding hard to get a grip. Pogba had a training ground fallout with the manager earlier and got subbed in the 3-1 defeat against West Ham United.
In case you didn't know...
Paul Pogba left Manchester United due to lack of playing time under Sir Alex on a free transfer to Juventus 2012. The French International won four Seria A titles, two Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana with the Italian giants establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.
Paul returned to United in 2016 at a world record transfer fee of €105 million. He was one of Jose Mourinho's marquee signings in his first season at Old Trafford. Pogba has played 67 games in the Premier League so far scoring 13 goals and providing 15 assists in the process.
The heart of the matter
At the time Pogba arrived in Manchester, he was one of the sought-after talents in world football. There was a lot of expectations from him being the fulcrum of United. Though he failed to replicate the form, he showed at Juventus; Jose Mourinho always defended Paul in his first season with the hope that the midfielder will prove everyone wrong with his performance in the next season.
Pogba started the second season with United in a positive fashion, but as the season progresses, inconsistency crept in which frustrated Jose Mourinho and made him leave the midfielder out of the side. There were rumours of a January move else from United.
After the World Cup, Jose took at jibe at Pogba again when he referred to the World Cup format being favourable to him as opposed to the Premier League. Rumours of his transfer to Barcelona or Juventus intensified and recently both of them had a training ground fall out.
Rumour Rating - 5/10
The Sun is not so reliable, but this report might be apt given the current relationship between the player and the manager. There is a tension between the two which reflects in Pogba's game as well. It's getting evident that one has to leave in the future for the betterment of the club.
What's next?
For the look of things, Jose Mourinho has lost the dressing room with some players are against his style of play. The team doesn't look united at all, and it's increasing the frustration of the fans. A win here and there might ease down the situation a bit, and it won't repair the damaging relationship between the player and the manager.
The United board will have tough days ahead which some crucial decisions to make which might affect the club in the long run.