Paul Pogba’s Manchester United future appears in greater doubt than ever before after his agent’s broadside at Old Trafford legend Paul Scholes.
But although Barcelona, or another Spanish club, still have a week to sign him the World Cup winner’s short-term future may have been secured by the early closure of the English transfer window.
United’s troubled start to the season got even worse on Tuesday when Mino Raiola, who orchestrated Pogba’s move to United in 2016, reacted furiously to criticism of his man from Scholes.
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The former midfielder questioned Pogba’s leadership credentials after the embarrassing defeat to Brighton on Sunday prompting Raiola to declare that “Scholes wouldn’t recognise a leader if he was in front of Sir Winston Churchill”.
In a second tweet he suggested Scholes should become United’s director of football and sell Pogba.
That promoted an unseemly social media free-for-all involving former United players including Gary Neville and Mike Phelan that did little to dispel the growing sense of crisis at Old Trafford, adding to the maelstrom that is threatening to engulf Jose Mourinho.
And it appears that Raiola, rumoured to be in negotiations with Barcelona over a move, could be forcing the issue with just a few days left until the transfer window closes in Spain.
“Although Scholes accused Pogba of having ‘a really poor game’ against Brighton and being too inconsistent, he made no suggestion that the midfielder should be sold, which made Raiola’s choice of words all the more incendiary,” notes the Daily Telegraph.
And the unseemly row has “increased” the likelihood of Pogba leaving this season, says The Times.
However, Pogba’s short term future may still be at Old Trafford, reports the Daily Mail. It says that although Raiola has been “heaping pressure” on the relationship between club and player, Barcelona “think Pogba will stay at Old Trafford because United are unable to bring in a replacement due to the English transfer window closing on August 9”.
Some also believe Raiola is manipulating the situation to try and secure an even better deal for Pogba at United, although he is now in danger of alienating the club.
Many managers, including Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, have refused to deal with Raiola for fear of being dragged into his world of machinations. And now Jose Mourinho could be about to get his fingers burned, says the Manchester Evening News.
The current United manager is under pressure. “Pogba and Mino Raiola have weakened his position with their tweets and we have been treated to the unnatural sight of Mourinho eulogising Pogba and refusing to publicly rebuke him when he deserved it.”
However, Raiola and, by implication, Pogba are playing a “dangerous game” by taking on the club and its legendary players, says Neil Custis in The Sun.
He advises Pogba to get a new agent, and pointedly notes that Paul Scholes, who Raiola was so quick to criticise, never needed one.
