If this was a Western movie, you’d definitely hear the words “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us”.

That town would be Manchester, and the massive egos would be those of Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba.

Tension between the two has been simmering for well over a year now, but over the past few months, the barbs have become more regular and rather thinly-veiled.

It came to a head earlier this week, when Mourinho announced that his World Cup-winning French star, signed for a then world record £89 million in 2016, would never again captain Manchester United.

That seemed to be in response to Pogba’s performance in a disappointing draw against Wolves, followed by the midfielder offering what was an obvious critique of Mourinho’s tactics.

The cards are on the table, and these two are not seeing eye to eye. The Telegraph with a look at who flinches first:

Sooner or later the decision Manchester United will have to make will be between backing the judgement of their manager Jose Mourinho or their most famous name, Paul Pogba, and it is a measure of the uncertainty around the club that it could either way…

The interview that Pogba gave after the draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers was the latest in a series of remarks that he will have known would provoke his manager. Mourinho might just have been able to wear it if he felt his player’s form warranted being indulged but that has not been the case.

The assumption that Mourinho is a manager who stages these kinds of disputes is to miss the nature of a very emotional man. He has acted on his instincts regardless of the consequences and in doing so thrown all the cards in the air. It is easy to look back and note that under Sir Alex Ferguson it would have been Pogba who left the club, as indeed he did once before. But football has changed immeasurably in the period since Mourinho began managing, never mind the career-span of his most famous Old Trafford predecessor.

Now the division of power is very finely balanced. It could go either way and one suspects it will not be long until we hear from Mino Raiola, the agent of Pogba who has a habit of writing his own part in these disputes. Mourinho will have known sanctioning Pogba was a risky move, but eventually judged it more of a risk to ignore.

Yeah, you have to factor in Mino Raiola, one of my least favourite footballing figures, because agents really do wield so much power these days, and he’s not exactly fond of shutting his gob.

Mourinho did try and put out some of the flames ahead of last night’s Carabao Cup match against Derby (they lost, which only adds to the pressure), but I’m not sure he nailed it.

Below from the BBC:

“I am the manager I can make these decisions.”

Speaking on Sky Sports [Mourinho] added: “No fallout at all, no problem at all, just a decision that I don’t have to explain.”

…But in his programme notes for Tuesday’s game, which Derby won on penalties, Mourinho said he was unhappy with some members of his squad.

“[The game against Wolves was] an important lesson; a lesson that I repeat week after week after week, a lesson that some boys are not learning,” he said.

“Every team that play Manchester United are playing the game of their lives, and we need to match that level of aggression, motivation and desire – 95% isn’t enough when others give 101%.”

Given that Pogba was dispossessed in the build-up to Wolves’ equaliser, with many fans criticising his rather lacklustre tracking back in order to make amends, it seems obvious what Mourinho is referring to.

There’s now a video doing the rounds from this morning’s training session. Sure looks like trouble is brewing:

JUST IN!

Frosty footage just in from @ManUtd‘s training session between Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho… ❄️

What has been said between the pair this morning? pic.twitter.com/nRiTEgDJlH

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 26, 2018

If you choose to believe the really spicy gossip doing the rounds, Pogba was actually on the receiving end of a public ‘dressing down’.

Here’s Football365 with a summary:

We start with Neil Custis of The Sun, who says Mourinho gave Pogba ‘a dressing down’ after the Wolves draw. Sounds sexy.

The manager then delivered ‘the most withering put down’ Pogba ‘has ever experienced’, telling him: “You’re a good player, not a special player” in front of his ‘stunned’ teammates.

James Ducker of the Daily Telegraph says Mourinho ‘reacted furiously’ to his carelessness in possession against Championship winners Wolves and tore at least two strips off him before the Derby game…

David Woods of the Daily Star goes one further, saying that Pogba ‘will almost certainly be sold’ in the winter.

Pogba’s apparent desire to leave is what the Daily Mail say ‘was the reason behind’ Mourinho’s latest decision. The manager deemed it ‘no longer acceptable’ for a wantaway player to serve as captain.

It has been repeatedly rumoured that Barcelona are keen on the Frenchman, who would seem to be a pretty good fit for their free-flowing, possession-based style of play.

Given today’s inflated transfer prices, you’d think he would go for that 2016 price plus serious interest, with some outlets speculating that he would cost close to £200 million.

My bet would be something closer to £120 million or so, but that’s still putting a dent in Barcelona’s bottom line.

The English transfer window opens again in January, and unless these two can patch up their differences, or at least keep their squabbles out of the public eye, maybe that will be the time for one or the other to move on.

For now, us non-Manchester United fans can just enjoy watching this unravel.

[sources:telegraph&bbc&football365]