Gary Neville has reiterated that his “one problem” with Paul Pogba was his controversial social media post in the aftermath of Jose Mourinho’s sacking.
The French midfielder deleted a post that asked users to caption an image of Pogba with a wry smile just hours after Manchester United dismissed their manager.
Pogba’s team insisted that the post was scheduled before Mourinho’s sacking, but Neville has dismissed that rationale.
“Everyone always concentrates on Paul Pogba,” Neville said on Sky Sports on Wednesday. “I only have one problem with Paul Pogba and that was his post, which I think disrespected Jose Mourinho in losing his job.
“We know it didn’t come from the club, we know it didn’t come from Adidas, we know it came from Paul Pogba, so my view personally is that was a massive disappointment to disrespect somebody that’s lost their job.”
Pogba and Mourinho had a notoriously poor relationship, with the manager often benching the Frenchman and stripped him of his vice captaincy earlier in the season.
With caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the helm, though, Pogba has been reinvigorated.
The World Cup-winner has four goals and three assists in Solskjaer’s first three games, and was named named Manchester United’s Player of the Month for December.
Neville has taken note of Pogba’s impact on the field, and is ready to led bygones be bygones when it comes to Pogba’s ill-timed social media post.
“I’ve always said that Manchester United are a far better team with him in it,” Neville said of Pogba.
“There is a line that needs to be drawn, perhaps you forget everything that’s happened in the past.
“However, all is forgiven because you move on in football but the fact of the matter is that he’s now performing how he should be, and that is a massive plus for United because he is a big player.”
- Goal.com