It seems that Manchester United are in the midst of yet another crisis, a scenario they have become all too familiar with in recent years.
The 6-1 defeat at the hands of Spurs represented perhaps a new low in the post-Ferguson era, but the thing about it was that type of abject performance did not come as a shock.
It has long been known that this Manchester United dressing room can be a toxic place when things start to go wrong, with one report indicating that players have been known to have major fallouts.
Italian journalist Paolo Condo, who writes for La Repubblica, summed up some of this in-fighting in an article. He revealed that Romelu Lukaku forced his way out of the club after he fell out with both Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial over their refusal to pass the ball to him (h/t The Express).
If things don’t improve, the next transfer window will be used by someone to attack Matic, and in the background remains the boulder of Pogba’s contract expiration, set at 2021.
The players, then, talk to each other.
Lukaku was tired of United because Pogba and Martial were struggling to pass him the ball, a picture of a dressing room divided in groups.
When Sanchez and Young asked him before signing how things were at Inter, the first answer was ‘really good, there are no clans’.
Times have really changed.
Pogba has come in for plenty of criticism for his performances this season, something that is only likely to increase after his comments on international duty with France.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, he openly talked about his desire to move to Real Madrid.
"All football players would love to play for Real Madrid. It is a dream for me, why not one day?" 👀
Paul Pogba also says there has been no contact from #MUFC over a contract extension: https://t.co/Ld5nFaHrpI— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 8, 2020
This is unlikely to be received well by Manchester United supporters, especially when you consider Pogba's apparent lack of effort on the pitch this season.
If the report above is accurate, perhaps him moving on from the club would be the best solution for all parties.