Paul Pogba’s brother blames Manchester United problems entirely on ‘centre of attention’ Jose Mourinho

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Jose Mourinho was the sole problem that led to Paul Pogba’s slump throughout the start of the season because he wanted to be the “centre of attention”, according to the Manchester United midfielder’s brother.

Mathias Pogba has waded into the big issue at Old Trafford that contributed to the Portuguese manager’s exit, with United making the decision last month to axe Mourinho and appoint Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his place as an interim option until the end of the season.

United have since won four consecutive Premier League games to reignite their top-four chances, as well as progressing through to the fourth round of the FA Cup where they will face Arsenal, but it has been the rejuvenated performances of Pogba that have stolen the headlines as the World Cup-winner scored twice against both Huddersfield Town and Bournemouth along with inspiring performances against Cardiff and Newcastle.

It was a dramatic turnaround from the Pogba who was benched and left out of Mourinho’s final games in December, and his older brother Mathias, who currently plays for Tours in the French third tier, believes Mourinho is entirely to blame for the fall-out between the pair.

“It was Mourinho who was the problem,” Mathias Pogba told French television station RMC Sport.

“Mourinho still wants to be the centre of attention. The problem was Mourinho, right down the line.

“In the locker room, outside the locker room...everything, I know my brother, and you tell him, ‘Go. Go play ‘, the rest, he will do it.

“From what we see of Mourinho, he always wants to be the maestro, the centre of attention.

“(Paul) does not even calculate that aspect: you respect him, he will respect you, you trust him, he will produce big performances.”