Paul Pogba has finally admitted that ‘not everything went well’ with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.
The Mourinho-Pogba fall out has been one of the major talking points of 2018. It is no secret that the pair did not get along and the feud was very much on public display. The clash of egos ultimately created a poisonous atmosphere in the dressing room and caused a division in the squad. A number of players simply did not want to play under Mourinho anymore and were angling for a move away from the club.
It clearly had an effect on the results on the pitch. United have made a woeful start to the season so far and are already out of the title race after just 17 games.
Last week, their embarrassing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool was the final straw. Two days later, the board took the decision to sack Mourinho. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come in as interim manager and the club already look alive again. His first game in charge saw his side beat Cardiff 5-1 – the first time United have scored five in a game since Sir Alex’s last game in 2013. Pogba in particular was magnificent, orchestrating play from midfield. He looked unshackled, eager to get on the ball and make things happen.
Following the game, the Frenchman attempted to bury the hatchet with Mourinho. He finally admitted that ‘not everything went well’ under the Portuguese, but also surprisingly thanked him for ‘improving him as a person’.
‘I know you’re waiting for something about Jose or about the result,’ he told reporters after United’s win in Cardiff.
‘Obviously, we’re really happy about the result. We played well and the performance of the team was great.
‘I know you want to ask, “oh yeah, but with Jose…” With Jose, we won trophies. We worked. I want to thank him for that.
‘Not everything went well, but things went well. We won trophies. He made me improve, as a person as well. That’s it. That’s the past. I want to thank him for that. I’m sure all the players do.’
The win against Cardiff was a massive improvement on the dire football we’ve seen from United so far. With a good run of fixtures ahead of them, this is a chance for them to make up lost ground with the top four.
‘Now we’re looking at the next game, for the points we need,’ the Frenchman added. ‘We want to go back to the top of the league. The performance was great.
‘We are happy as well for the first game with the new manager to start like this. And the most important thing is to carry on like that. We cannot play like this with five goals and in the next game lose. That’s it.’
