Richard Keys has branded Paul Pogba a “virus” and claims nothing he could hear in the midfielder’s documentary could change his mind.
The Frenchman is closing in on a return to Juventus, having left Manchester United on a free for the second time in his career. His departure closes the book on another Pogba chapter that failed to deliver on its promise, this time after being signed for £89million back in 2016.
Jose Mourinho was the man in the Old Trafford dugout at the time of his record-breaking transfer and together they won three trophies during the 2016/17 season. But the relationship quickly soured, culminating in a training ground bust-up which made headlines around the football world.
Pogba discussed his strained working situation whilst playing under the Special One, pointing to an argument surrounding an injury as the genesis of it all. The 29-year-old stated that while rehabbing from an injury in Miami, Mourinho forwarded a picture of the player to his agent Mino Raiola.
“It all started when I got injured,” he explained in the five-part Amazon series. “I decided to go to Miami for rehab and left. In Miami a paparazzo photographed me with my wife Zulay.
“Mourinho sent the photo to Raiola. I didn't like it at all... at all. I said to Mou, ‘are you serious? I am injured, but I come here to train three times a day. Who do you think I am? I'm not like other players’.”
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Mourinho publicly called out the midfielder on several occasions including in the immediate aftermath of France’s World Cup triumph in 2018: He said: "I think the World Cup is the perfect habitat for a player like him to give the best. Why? Because he's closed for a month where he can only think about football. During a season you can have a big match, then a small match, then one even smaller, then you can lose your focus."
Keys, who has worked alongside the former United and Chelsea boss during punditry stints, said he has been made fully aware of their combustible relationship and was in no doubt over which side of the fence he found himself on.
“I doubt there’s anything in the Pogmentary that will persuade me that Pogba isn’t a virus & United are well rid of him,” the former Sky Sports anchor posted on Twitter. “£300,000/week - nothing? Didn’t feel loved? Please. Mourinho told me about his rows & there’s only one side to take.”
Despite the apparent animosity between the pair, Pogba said he holds no grudge and is instead focused on making United regret the decision to not give him a new contract.
“My thought process is to show Manchester (United) that they made a mistake in waiting to give me a contract,” Pogba added. “And to show other clubs that Manchester had made a mistake in not offering me a contract.
“How can you tell a player you absolutely want him and offer him nothing? Never seen that.”
