Manchester United legend, Paul Scholes, has said that Jose Mourinho should have handed the captain’s armband to Paul Pogba when he rejoined the club in 2016.
The Portuguese gaffer dropped Pogba from his starting XI in the second half of last season and the 25-year-old Frenchman has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona and Juventus this summer.
Pogba and Mourinho had a bust-up at United’s Carrington training base earlier this week and the Portuguese is understood to have told the Frenchman to hand in a transfer request if he wishes to leave the club.
“There’s obviously some kind of breakdown in their relationship from what we read. Do we know that for definite? I don’t know,” Scholes said on BBC 5 Live Sport when discussing the rumours surrounding Pogba and Mourinho.
“What we do know is that Paul needs to perform more often than he is doing.
“We all know the talent he’s got – great strength, great ability, an athlete. But he’s only doing it once in every three or four games. If you’re going to challenge for a title, I just don’t think that can happen.”
The former England midfielder said Mourinho missed a trick by not making Pogba his captain “the minute” he signed for United two summers ago.
Asked about his performance as skipper on Friday night, Scholes replied, “Captain’s armband? I thought that the minute we signed him he should have been made captain. Give him some responsibility as a young player.
“I don’t think there was a standout person to be captain in that team and I just thought it was ideal for him. Hopefully, he can keep that now.
“He started okay on Friday but I don’t think he was anything special. ‘But if he can thrive with that extra responsibility then he should keep the armband.”
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