‘Mourinho thought he could make a fool of me’

Paul Pogba wildly celebrated Jose Mourinho’s departure from Manchester United by insisting ‘he f***** with the wrong baller’.

The Portuguese boss was finally relieved of his duties at Old Trafford earlier this week following the club’s worst start to a top-flight season since 1990. His last game was a 3-1 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

One of Mourinho’s biggest failings was a failure to bring the best out of Pogba, who re-joined the club from Juventus for a staggering £89million in August 2016.

The pair engaged in numerous arguments and Pogba was stripped of the vice-captaincy in the final few months of Mourinho’s tenure.

According to The Sun, Pogba shouted: ‘He thought he could make a fool of me and turn the fans against me. He f***ed with the wrong baller,’ at the club’s Carrington training ground on Tuesday morning.

It is claimed the only player who did not join in the celebrations was striker Romelu Lukaku, who was signed by Mourinho for an initial £75million in 2017.

Michael Carrick, who served on Mourinho’s coaching staff, was quick to get involved though and reminded Pogba that no player is bigger than the club.

The report suggests Carrick reminded players that anyone who is not up to scratch would be sold and they needed to pull together to improve results on the pitch.

It is also claimed in The Sun that Mourinho told Pogba during a meeting that he should try to be like Frank Lampard, his former Chelsea player.

In a bid to improve the Frenchman’s attitude, Mourinho pointed out Lampard as ‘an example of the perfect midfielder’.

Rather than take the advice on board though, Pogba reacted furiously and asked if Lampard had won the World Cup like he managed to do with France earlier this year.

It is believed Pogba’s dismissive response was the final straw for Mourinho and confirmed his feelings that his relationship with Pogba was beyond repair.

Mourinho is also believed to have told another United player to stay clear of Pogba because he was becoming such a bad influence.