Jose Mourinho is rumoured to have launched a stunning attack on Paul Pogba after yesterday's draw at Southampton, labelling him as a 'virus'.
Despite recovering from an early 2-0 deficit, Manchester United put in an incredibly poor performance. They were outplayed by the Premier League's 19th placed team for large portions of the match, and looked severely lacking in both effort and skill at times. Mourinho was incensed with yet another lacklustre display from his side, and he felt Pogba was the main culprit.
According to the Daily Record, the Portuguese boss singled out Pogba in the dressing room directly after the match. He accused the World Cup winner of dragging down the performance of the whole team, likening him to a virus:
You don't play. You don't respect players and supporters. And you kill the mentality of the good honest people around you.
Pogba was poor yesterday, with the game seeming to pass him by at times. He was also sloppy in possession, being dispossessed by the opposition on eight occasions.
While the Frenchman did indeed put in a tepid display, he was far from the only subpar performer. Marcus Rashford was perhaps the only United player that could come away from the game happy with his performance, laying on two assists to get United back into the game.
Despite ending his scoreless drought, Romelu Lukaku was a bit of a disaster up front. He offered very little to his side, but is seemingly immune to his manager's regular public criticisms of his players.
This incident is just the latest example of the fractured relationship between Mourinho and Pogba. This moment between the pair earlier in the season went viral, and occurred soon after Mourinho stripped the midfielder of his vice-captaincy role.
Wow! Look at this exchange between Pogba and Mourinho in training this morning 👀😳 pic.twitter.com/mlcxvaL9yn
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) September 26, 2018
It is almost certain that at least one of the two will not be at Old Trafford next season, with Mourinho's days in charge looking increasingly numbered. No prizes for guessing the person in the dressing room who is keenest to see him move on.
