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What's the rumour?
According to Daily Mail, Paul Pogba has been stripped of Manchester United vice-captaincy duties after telling Jose Mourinho he wants to join Barcelona.
After Mourinho's reported shouting at Paul Pogba after a draw against Wolves in the last weekend, their relations seem have gone beyond reconciliation and hence the stripping of vice-captaincy has certainly become the last flashpoint between them. Hence, Pogba has expressed his desire to leave the club to his manager.
In case you didn't know...
Pogba had been on the verge of joining the Nou Camp in the recently concluded transfer window. In spite of his desire to join Barcelona, the United hierarchy stalled this by expressly stating that Pogba is not for sale.
This latest flare-up between the manager and player seems to have given Barcelona a golden chance to sign their top target in January.
The heart of the matter
Jose Mourinho reportedly blamed Paul Pogba for the draw against Wolves after he missed a chance to score. Hence, this didn't go down well with Pogba who stated his wish to leave Old Trafford. Despite Mourinho publicly stating that the stripping of vice-captaincy does not mean that the player will leave the club, their relationship has gone beyond repairable.
Despite his frosty relationship with Mourinho and reportedly agreeing to personal terms with Barcelona, Pogba stayed at Old Trafford after winning the World Cup for France due to Manchester United declining to sell him in this summer transfer window.
Barcelona, on the other hand, have decided to scout Paul Pogba and have identified him as the worthy successor to club legend Andreas Iniesta. Hence, they will be delighted with the latest fight between Mourinho and Pogba and so will double their efforts to sign the player in January.
Rumour Rating: 8/10
Daily Mail is accurate in its online publications and there is no need to doubt this report. Further, Paul Pogba now seems quite desperate to join Barcelona in January.
What's next?
According to these reports, there is no way in which Manchester United can now persuade Paul Pogba to stay at the club. Hence, it is now up to Barcelona to submit a tempting offer to the Manchester United hierarchy.
