Sports

Body language expert analyses Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogbas frosty exchange in training

233

The pair clashed in front of the cameras at Carrington on Wednesday (Credit: Getty)

The friction between Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and manager Jose Mourinho ramped up another notch on Wednesday after an ice-cold exchange between player and manager in training.

The clip, which shows Pogba reacting to a remark from Mourinho, has already been viewed over seven million times on social media and shows the clearest indication yet of the breakdown in their already fractious relationship.

Mourinho insists there is no problem between himself and Pogba, despite telling him he will not captain the club again, but body language expert Judi James is not so convinced.

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

She told Metro.co.uk: It would be difficult to see how these two men could forge a working relationship after performing such an obvious public stand-off and stare-down in full view of the other players.

Advertisement Advertisement

This body language could have destroyed the team pecking order and power base. Mourinhos treatment of Pogba might have been guaranteed to get some kind of a response but not what looks like such a challenge to his authority as this.

Pogba arrives looking chipper, greeting other players with slapping handshakes but then he freezes when he spots Mourinho.

Pogba looked stunned by Mourinhos comment and then shared a shocked glance at the press officer (Picture: Sky Sports)

Mourinho clearly has no intention of greeting his player as his hands are initially stuffed in his pockets but the stare-down he gets from Pogba as he talks to him looks like the kind of tactics you see boxers use to intimidate their opponents at a weigh-in before a prize fight.

Mourinho walks away behind Pogba but the player rotates his head to continue the stare-off.

When Pogba walks away he performs an alpha swagger before placing his hands on his hips in a splaying gesture often associated with a state of aggressive arousal.

What were they arguing about?

Mourinho brought up an Instagram post Pogba made on Tuesday night, which saw him laughing and joking in the stands while his teammates crashed out of the Carabao Cup on penalties.

Sky Sports microphones picked up the Portuguese boss calling over press officer John Allen and asking him: When did Paul post that Instagram?

Pogba reacted defensively, having supposedly intended to upload the clip earlier in the evening before the club got knocked out, and then pointed Mourinho in the direction of Andreas Pereira and Luke Shaw who were also watching on from the same box and appeared in the video on Instagram.

Advertisement Advertisement

When did Mourinho and Pogbas fall-out begin?

The first signs of trouble between Mourinho and Pogba began at the turn of the year, when the Frenchman was dropped from the team and replaced by youngster Scott McTominay.

A normal haircut, no tattoos, no big cars, no big watches. A humble kid, gushed Mourinho of the 21-year-old back in February. As well as being concerned about Pogba off the pitch, the Portuguese coach had also lost trust in him on it, believing that he lacked the tactical discipline and work rate to sit alongside Nemanja Matic in the base of midfield.

Pogba has been accused of focusing more on his hair than football (Picture: Getty)

An incredible summer in which Pogba corrected many of those flaws in his game to help France lift the World Cup ought to have carried over into his club form, but instead Mourinho went back on the offensive.

The United boss suggested his record signing had benefited from the world cup bubble – Its closed for a month, he can only think about football – and his praise of his world champion was minimal to say the least.

France's Paul Pogba celebrates with the trophy after the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) — Mourinho chose to critique Pogbas World Cup rather than outright praise him (Picture: AP)

Those remarks reportedly did not go down well with Pogba, who became heavily linked with a move to Barcelona as the transfer window drew to a close, and he hinted that he was unhappy after the opening day win over Leicester – though did not divulge any further for fear of being fined.

This week the feud came to a head after Pogba told the media United needed to go back to their attack, attack, attack traditions, and he was promptly stripped of his second captain status afterwards – in front of his teammates no less.

What happens next?

With the transfer window not opening again until January, Mourinho and Pogba will have to try and co-exist for the next three months, but their squabble threatens to derail Uniteds already precarious season.

The Red Devils have fallen eight points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, while they exited the Carabao Cup at the hands of Championship side Derby County; Pogba, rested on Tuesday evening, watched from the stands.

Will Ed Woodward back his manager or his star player? (Picture: Getty)

Right now, the Frenchman seems increasingly willing to openly clash with his manager, rather than air any grievances behind closed doors, and it is clear Mourinho feels that no player is bigger than the club (some have even suggested he staged the training-ground altercation).

But does executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward feel the same way? He must decide whether to back his manager, and potentially sell the biggest signing – and coup – of his time at United if he does not fall in line, or convince Pogba to stay.

If he does the latter, it would surely erode Mourinhos power too much and signal the end of his time at Old Trafford. Given their unspectacular football and dwindling title credentials, perhaps thats not such a bad thing – but will another manager really get the best out of Pogba?