One of the biggest news stories in the football world yesterday was Jose Mourinho being on the receving end of extremely pointed comments from one of his former players, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba. The Frenchman claimed that his old boss is can be very fickle with players and that there is no discernible reason as to why.
Pogba went on to say that Mourinho, now the leader at Tottenham Hotspur, is inferior to current United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as a man manager. It was explosive stuff, so naturally, Mourinho was asked about it after his side’s 2-2 draw with Everton yesterday.
United Preview Material vs Burnley FC: MUFC Starting XI Prediction Team News for Both Sides
Mourinho was understated and terse in his response, but in doing so, still hit back pretty hard with his retort.
“I would like to say that I couldn’t care less what he says,” Mourinho replied to the reporter question. “I couldn’t care less. Not interested at all.”
On face value that seems like a very measured, low key response, but when you consider the context, the opposite is true. If there is one thing we know Pogba enjoys (not to mention his agent, Mino Raiola) it’s attention, and Mourinho obviously knows that. He knew exactly how to hit back at England’s most expensive player.
This probably squashes the beef for now, but you never know when this might pop back up again in the future.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.