PAUL POGBA’S performance for Manchester United against Barcelona showed he is at the same level as Andres Iniesta and Toni Kroos.
Those are the thoughts of Jose Mourinho.
Pogba produced a typically all-action display and came close to scoring against Barcelona, but could not prevent the Red Devils from slumping to a first defeat of their pre-season tour.
The Frenchman struggled at times to justify his huge £89million price-tag last term.
But Mourinho was convinced that the 24-year-old’s performance showed he is on a similar level to that of his counterparts in La Liga.
“With Messi and Neymar, there is only one [of each]. There are not two,” Mourinho told MUTV.
“Suarez, Iniesta, Pique, Ronaldo, Bale, Modric, Toni Kroos, there is only one of them. So they can only play for one club and not two.
“We cannot have them. They belong to the clubs. You can be working very hard tactically to improve your team, to improve your players, but some players are special and against that nature there is nothing you can do.
“In the real matches you try to compensate the difference in quality with a certain tactical organisation, and with that you can win. In football it is possible for a team to be better than the sum of the parts.
“But the parts are amazing. Their relationship with the ball is amazing. You can argue about the occupation of space, tactics and compact blocks, but the player’s relationship with the ball is still the most important thing.
“Even as an opponent on the bench like I am, it is beautiful to see the guys’ relationship with the ball.
“Today, one of my players, Paul Pogba, showed the level. He showed that he belongs at that level.”
Source:www.express.co.uk