Paul Pogba opens up about life under Jose Mourinho during his 'complicated' first season back at Manchester United
The Frenchman has described his first season back at the club as 'complicated' but has praised his manager for delivering success through his sometimes 'extreme' methods
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Your support makes all the difference.Paul Pogba has revealed what life is like at Manchester United under Jose Mourinho, claiming that the manager demands “extreme things”, but that his methods often deliver success.
Manchester United finished a lowly sixth in the Premier League despite spending £89m on Pogba at the beginning of the season, although victory in the Europa League did win them qualification to the Champions League.
Mourinho frequently changed his tactics and his team during his debut campaign, with Pogba admitting that the impromptu – and often successful – switches make him a “special” manager.
“He is the Special One because he wins,” he told Sky in Germany. “Sometimes he does some extreme things. Against Chelsea, he changed our tactical formation just before the game.
“We had never trained it before but it worked out well. That was special. He won three trophies in his first year, that's special as well. He deserves his name.
“He's a manager who is really close with the players. Personally, he welcomed me, we had a talk and I had a good feeling from the first moment on. He trusted and defended me. That's all a player needs.”
Pogba also declared his first season back at Old Trafford as “complicated”, after his world-record move.
The Frenchman only managed to score five goals in the league despite playing in 30 matches, but grew in confidence towards the end of the campaign and was particularly impressive in Europe.
“My first season back here in Manchester was good, but quite complicated,” he said. “I had to adapt to the English football. I didn't really have a pre-season, so I had to jump straight in.
“But the more I trained the better it got. With the other players, I felt at ease from the first moment on. It's true that the results weren't as positive as we'd wished, but we reached our goals. All in all, it was a good season for us.”
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