Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has questioned whether Paul Pogba has the right level of focus and motivation when playing for the Old Trafford outfit.
Pogba rejoined Manchester United in a then World Record £89 million deal from Juventus in the summer of 2016. However, he has struggled to produce his best form on a regular basis in the Premier League, and he seemingly fell out with Mourinho last year over a lack of tactical discipline.
The 25-year-old won rave reviews for his mature performances for his Country this summer in Russia, as Les Blues won just their second World Cup.
However, Mourinho reckons the World Cup was the perfect platform for Pogba to perform at his best, and does not sound overly convinced that the £89 million man will be able to maintain the same level of focus while playing at club level.
“I don’t think it’s about us getting the best out of him,” said Mourinho.
“It’s about him giving the best he has to give.
“I think the World Cup is the perfect habitat for a player like him to give the best.
“Why? Because it’s closed for a month, where he can only think about football.
“Where he’s with his team on the training camp, completely isolated from the external world, where they focus just on football, where the dimensions of the game can only motivate.
“During a season, you can have a big match then a smaller match, then one even smaller, then you can lose your focus, you can lose your concentration, then comes a big match again.
“In the World Cup, the direction of the emotion, of the responsibility, of the big decisions is always growing up.
“You are in the group phase, you go to the last 16, to the quarter-finals, to the semi-finals, to the final.
“This feeds the motivation. This feeds the concentration of a player. So I think it was the perfect environment for him.”
