Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has chimed in with his two cents on the (supposed?) rift between Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho and midfielder Paul Pogba. Only Pogba, Mourinho, and those closest to both men really know if there’s a genuine strong divide between the two men.
We’ve certainly seen some signs of friction between the two men in public, with Mourinho often criticizing Pogba, and even dropping him from the lineup on occasion. However, at the same time “the feud” narrative that we consistently see in the press could be somewhat overblown by typical media sensationalism. Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola himself has shot down the idea that his client is at odds with his manager.
There’s been a lot of talk about a major roster overhaul coming to Old Trafford this summer, and that even Paul Pogba could be on the way out. NBC Sports even has a feature today describing “a stand off” between the two larger than life United personalities; depicting a situation that “is intensifying with neither willing to step down.”
Drogba, however, sees it quite differently. The former captain and all time leading scorer for the Ivory Coast national team played under Mourinho at Chelsea for a few years, so he knows the former Blues boss quite well. In an interview with Telefoot, Drogba articulated the idea that Mourinho is just administering tough love on Pogba, and that he is going very hard on the Frenchman because he cares about and believes in him.
“It’s been hot between us,” Drogba said of his relationship with Mourinho in the past.
“But Jose is never going to attack people he does not like. He likes Paul a lot. That’s why he’s given him a lot of responsibilities.”
So is the Drogba on Pogba take correct? Or are the media reports of extreme discord spot on? I guess we won’t really know until the summer transfer window gets here, but you can watch the Drogba interview over at this link in the meantime.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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