Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has hit out at the “lies” which continue to circulate as his working relationship with Paul Pogba is called into question.
For some time now the Portuguese has faced questions regarding his £89 million record signing.
Mourinho has fanned the flames with public discussion of the Frenchman’s form, while Pogba recently conceded that there are “things that I cannot say, otherwise I will get fined”.
The man at the Old Trafford helm responded to those comments by stating that he “couldn’t be happier” with the 25-year-old midfielder and has now sought to bring the issue to a close.
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Mourinho told United’s official website: “I don’t like lies.
“When people disagree with me – pundits, journalists… it’s not a drama for me, it’s something I’ve learnt to respect. It’s part of the game. But the lies are something that I really don’t like. And I think it goes against the ethics of the job.
“When you are a journalist, I think you want to inform and you want to inform the truth, or you are an opinion-maker and you have your own opinion. But the lies go against things. And many lies have been said and written.
“I can promise that the life here at the ATC [Aon Training Complex] is a good life. People have good relations, the players are polite, educated people, not just with me and the [coaching] staff but with everybody and that’s a beautiful thing because here we treat the people that are here, in reception, in the kitchen, everyone… we treat them all the same way.
“I think everyone is happy in relation to that social life we have here and it’s something that I really enjoy and respect, and it hurts a little bit when the lies go in the direction of these problems that are not true.”
Mourinho has displayed his faith in Pogba by handing him the captain’s armband at the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
He responded to that responsibility with a goal in a 2-1 victory over Leicester on the opening weekend and will lead the Red Devils out again at Brighton on Sunday – with club skipper Antonio Valencia still missing through injury.