The Paul Pogba vs Jose Mourinho feud is dominating football headlines worldwide these days, as it’s a clash of wills between two superstars with larger than life egos. The row is also iconic of the severe dysfunction going on within Old Trafford right now.
It’s a spat that’s absolutely bad for all who are involved, and now it’s inspiring prominent figures in the footy world to take sides. France national team coach Didier Deschamps is one of those people taking a stance, and he’s siding where you think he would.
Deschamps just led France to a World Cup win, guiding a side in which Pogba played a tremendous leadership role.
“He has taken many things upon himself. He has been a leader,” Deschamps told The Guardian. “Each time he had to talk and express himself it was always very positive. It’s the words he uses and the atmosphere and feeling that comes across. He is not the only one but he is one of the leaders who took it upon himself because the group needed it. On the pitch he did what needed to be done as well.”
“There are a few things people ought to know. First of all, there is an image of Paul that doesn’t correspond to who he is. Maybe it is because he is a bit eccentric, a bit demonstrative. He has been with me since 2013 – that is five years now – and the way he functions is not about him for himself, it is him as part of the group. That is really important.”
“His image in the media makes everything quite complicated. The amount of the transfer to Manchester United is ridiculous … it wasn’t easy to manage. During this World Cup, he managed to get a normal image back. The fact he talks, it liberates him a bit, but the most important thing is that Paul came to this World Cup with a very precise idea: he wanted to prepare himself to be world champion.”
“That is what he had in his mind.”
Deschamps not only seems to understand Pogba the person in a way that Mourinho does not, but as we saw this summer, he understands how to utilize him on the pitch in order to maximize his talents. Clearly, Mourinho doesn’t.
The idea of both Mourinho and Pogba remaining at United is not long for this world. One, if not both, will be out the door eventually, and perhaps sooner rather than later.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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