Dimitar Berbatov has admitted he is “fed up” of hearing about the allegedly strained relationship with Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba
Mourinho and Pogba were said to have fallen out last season and claims in the media that the United manager had stripped the midfielder of the vice-captaincy following the draw with Wolves has sparked a fresh round of reports that their relationship is irreparably damaged. The emergence of footage showing a seemingly terse training ground exchange between the pair has done nothing to dampen the speculation.
Berbatov, who was a player at United when Pogba was in the club’s youth ranks, has admitted he is surprised that things have reached this stage.
“This sort of thing really needs to be kept in-house. You’re all grown-ups, figure it out in the dressing room.,” Berbatov said in his Betfair column.
“For Mourinho to have gone as far as removing the vice-captaincy, Pogba must have provoked him – whether it was the comments after the Wolves game or something else. But these arguments affect everybody else and start having an impact on the pitch.
“As someone who wants Manchester United to do well, I’m fed up of waking up and seeing these headlines. Football should be about what happens on the pitch, not who has the biggest dick. It’s a stupid situation.”
It’s since been reports that Mourinho confronted Pogba about the timing of an Instagram post taken as the French international watched United lose to Derby County in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. The matter has reportedly been cleared up after it emerged Mourinho was told the post was not made after the defeat, as he originally though.
The matter, for now at least, appears to have been resolved.
