Jose Mourinho bans Paul Pogba from speaking publicly about Manchester United troubles

Tight-lipped | Pogba told to keep quiet after recent outbursts
Reuters/Lee Smith

Jose Mourinho has gagged Paul Pogba from speaking publicly about the troubles at Manchester United.

Mourinho has laid the law down after stripping the Frenchman of the vice-captaincy last week.

The United manager was angered by a series of inflammatory interviews given by Pogba in recent weeks and has banned him from talking to the media for the foreseeable future.

The £89m midfielder’s call for United to “attack, attack, attack” after last month’s 1-1 draw with Wolves was the final straw for Mourinho, who insisted he would never captain the club again.

Asked to speak after the goalless draw with Valencia in the Champions League on Tuesday, Pogba said: “I’ve been told I’m not allowed.”

It followed his four-word response to an interview request after Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to West Ham when he said: “You want me dead?”

While Mourinho is determined to silence Pogba at United, he is bracing himself for the upcoming international break, when he will be powerless to keep the club record signing silent.

Pogba has used his time away with France to increase speculation over his future - most recently refusing to rule out an imminent move amid links with Barcelona.

He also used the last break to give a clear indication of tensions between him and Mourinho - insisting they had a purely player/coach relationship.

Mourinho showed restraint in face Pogba’s outspoken antics in the opening weeks of the season as he tried to heal the rift between the pair in a bid to keep United’s season on track.

But the 25-year-old’s comments after Wolves tested his patience too far.

He will also be angered by Pogba’s revelation that he has been gagged, which could be considered a latest public act of defiance.

While Pogba refused to talk to reporters, he did issue a message to supporters via social media - Tweeting: “Let’s keep fighting United.”

In Pictures | Manchester United vs Valencia | 02/10/2018

1/22

Meanwhile, Antonio Valencia has been forced to apologise for liking an Instagram post that called for Mourinho to be sacked.

The United captain insisted it was an accident - but the incident was the latest evidence of the turmoil at Old Trafford.

It also came after the players attempted to put on a very public show of unity with a huddle before kick off against Valencia.

In a post a fan claimed watching United had become a “punishment,” adding, “It’s time for Mourinho to go.”

Valencia Tweeted this morning: “Yesterday, I liked a post on Instagram without reading the text that accompanied the picture. These are not my views and I apologise for this.

“I am fully supportive of the manager and my teammates. We are all giving our everything to improve the results.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in