Jose Mourinho’s public fallout with Manchester United star Paul Pogba has escalated further after Saturday evening’s draw at Southampton.
The French midfielder was underwhelming as United rescued a point at St Mary’s having been 2-0 down inside the opening 20 minutes.
And it was the World Cup winner who seemed to bear the brunt of Mourinho’s anger after the full time whistle.
According to the Daily Record, Mourinho accused Pogba of displaying a lack of respect for his team-mate’s after his performance.
The report claims Mourinho labelled the 25-year-old a ‘virus’ in front of the entire United team.
He is believed to have told him: ‘You don’t play. You don’t respect players and supporters. And you kill the mentality of the good honest people around you.’
Pogba was restored to United’s starting XI amid an injury crisis having been dropped for the Champions League win over Young Boys in midweek.
The latest exchange comes after Mourinho lamented the lack of ‘mad dogs’ in his midfield.
‘We lost so many balls in midfield, that was difficult to have that continuity,’ Mourinho said in a post-match interview. ‘In the second half we went back to that dynamic where we lost too many balls in midfield, when the players don’t understand that simplicity is genius.
‘The second goal was a direct free-kick and the first goal is because we don’t press the ball when our block is low. We don’t have many mad dogs – the ones that bite the ball and press all the time.
‘McTominay and Matic did a very good job for two midfield players.’