Mathias Pogba, the older brother of Paul, has revealed that the Manchester United midfielder wanted to leave the club under Jose Mourinho.
The pair found themselves engaged in a well-documented rivalry which epitomised the atmosphere of paranoia and conflict engendered by Mourinho.
Pogba was not even playing towards the end of Mourinho’s time at the club, left on the bench for his last three Premier League games.
And Mathias, who plays for French side Tours, revealed recently that Pogba had seriously considered leaving under Mourinho.
“Of course. It comes into your mind,” he told French station Telefoot. “But today he is where he is. He was under contract so he had to grit his teeth and keep working.”
Imagine a world where Mourinho won, where Mourinho got his way. Martial gone, Pogba gone, Rashford on the bench, Lukaku, McTominay, Fellaini and Matic starting every single game, without fail, Ivan Perisic and Willian being unsuccessfully wedged into the team.
Thankfully, common sense prevailed. And Pogba, in just seven Premier League games under Solskjaer, has six goals and five assists, contributing to a goal every 74 minutes. He managed just five goals and four assists for United over the entire 2017/18 campaign.
It is the type of statistic which once again makes you wonder: what on earth was Mourinho doing in training every day?