It would set a dangerous precedent to favour a player over the manager but Mourinho has a history of clashes, so might the end be nigh for both?
How did it all come to this? Two grown adults squabbling in thinly-veiled public soundbites at a time when they people they represent need them now, more than ever, to sort out their act and get on with performing in the best interests of Manchester United.
Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho. “Oil and water” was how Sir Alex Ferguson likened his relationship with Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola ahead of the Frenchman’s initial departure from Old Trafford as a 19-year-old in 2012, and the same term might well be used for the differences between Pogba and his current manager as the rift between them grows every day.