Paul Pogba issued a damning four-word response when asked to comment on Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham.
United were thoroughly and convincingly beaten at the London Stadium to continue their terrible start to the season.
They are now 10th in the Premier League table, nine points behind Manchester City and Liverpool after seven games.
Defeat to West Ham not only consigned Mourinho to a place as our early loser, but also bookmarked a week which included a draw with Wolves, League Cup exit at the hands of Championship Derby, and infighting with former “second captain” Pogba.
The two were seen clashing in training on Wednesday, a situation which Mourinho attempted to defuse two days later.
But their relationship still seems to be rocky to say the least, with Pogba offering just four words but plenty of insight in what his manager calls “the famous mixed zone”.
When asked to discuss United’s 3-1 defeat, the Frenchman simply replied: “You want me dead?”
Ronan Keating was right all along.
France international continues to be linked with a winter transfer, with the man in charge at Camp Nou staying tight-lipped on the speculation .Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has stopped short of ruling out a January bid for unsettled Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.
The France international first saw speculation regarding a possible switch to Camp Nou sparked over the summer. No move was made then, with Jose Mourinho prepared to welcome a World Cup winner back into his ranks.
The working relationship between a high-profile manager and flamboyant midfielder has, however, soured at Old Trafford, leading to more exit talk.
La Liga giants Barcelona would be one of the few sides in world football that could afford to land Pogba were he to be made available.
Bartomeu is ruling nothing out at this stage, telling The Times: “I read these rumours – not just Pogba but a lot of players. Most of the teams don’t want to sell their players. They want to grow.
“When you hear from agents that a certain player is on the market – and I am not saying that about this player, but generally – I will sometimes call the CEO and say ‘Is it true you want to sell this player?’. Usually they say ‘No way, not for sale’ and that’s the end of it.”
This is the second time in the space of two months that Bartomeu has offered a cryptic response to reported interest in Pogba.
As the summer transfer window prepared to shut, he said of links to the 25-year-old superstar: “We’ll see which players come out. We’re focused on the league, so it’s best to ask [Eric] Abidal, [Ramon] Planes or Pep Segura about players. There’s still time to do business.”
Barcelona tabled no bids before the deadline passed, but the door has been left open to Pogba at Camp Nou.
Gerard Pique, who was on United’s books as the exciting Frenchman progressed through the Red Devils’ academy system, told reporters amid the summer speculation: “I know very little of what is happening in Manchester, the relationship that exists [between Pogba and Mourinho].
“Pogba is a very good player, but a Manchester United player right now, and we will see in the future if anything happens.
“We would be happy to have him here, but Manchester United is his club and, if someone has to say something, it must be them.”