Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba’s strained relationship was laid bare in front of cameras on Wednesday – but is the problem fixable?
It is not the first player-manager spat at Manchester United, nor any club for that matter, and it is unlikely to be the last – but previous situations have seen big stars leave Old Trafford.
Widespread reports claim Pogba does want out for a second time but, with that not possible until at least January 1, the France international and his Portuguese boss must continue to work together.
So how can they do that? Can the relationship be repaired for good? former player Mido, former Everton and Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, and crisis management expert Anthony Burr of Burr Media, to see if things can be patched up…
‘Ed Woodward needs to bring in help’
Mido: “Ed Woodward should go to Mino Raiola – he is the only one who can solve this situation. He will always do his best for his players; he always has. In this case, I think Mino would want to solve the situation. He has a very good relationship with Mourinho and with Manchester United. He has got many players into Manchester United in the last couple of years. I think Mino Raiola is the key to solving the Mourinho-Pogba issue.”
Wyness: “Part of the problem is that two major characters in Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill left the club and their personality and charisma has not been replaced in terms of the senior management. So I think Ed has got to consider bringing in somebody experienced with a strong personality to assist him on the football side. Also, they are going to have to sell Pogba as soon as possible. You can get a deal done now that could be actioned on January 1 and I would do the deal as soon as possible.”
Burr: “Ed has to take charge of the situation and quickly because it is spiralling out of control. He has a good relationship with Mourinho and is desperate for him to succeed, but that is appearing to cloud his judgement. He needs to get Mourinho and Pogba in a room together in private, and resolve their differences. If he doesn’t broker that meeting and intercede then United’s season could unravel.”
‘United lack a strong club captain’
Mido: “It is not easy. The captain always has a role to play if things have not come out in the media but now it is all over the place so the captain cannot do anything about it. It is up to the board and the club.”
Wyness: “It depends on the relationship between the manager and the captain. I would say he should be a factor. But that is a bit of an old-fashioned, romantic concept; that the captain really has that role any more in a club of this scale.”
Burr: “Due to his ongoing knee problem, Valencia has featured very little in United’s season. Furthermore, he only took over the armband in the summer and is not a natural or vociferous leader of men in the mould of a John Terry, or Steven Gerrard, or Luka Modric. I think if there was a character like that at United now then they would certainly play a part in this dispute.”
‘Punishing Mourinho would inflame things’
Mido: “Mourinho is fed up, he knows what Pogba is trying to do, and he is trying to protect himself. He has been in these situations before. Maybe Mourinho did it on purpose. The last thing you want your players to do, especially with big personalities in the dressing room, is to go and criticise your tactics and the way the team is playing when things aren’t going well for you. That is what Pogba did and it was not a clever thing to do.”
Wyness: “Mourinho should not be reprimanded. The video is just part of the information that informs you, as the chief executive, as to whether it has broken down completely. But there is no point in picking small issues and reprimanding managers over things like that.”
Burr: “If the club reprimanded him then it would only exacerbate the situation. My course of action would be to let it pass. Similar to Pogba’s ill-timed Instagram post, leave it be, it’s done, move on. The club need to deal with what’s happening now between their two central characters. That is the main priority.”