PAUL POGBA influenced Ed Woodward’s decision to sack Jose Mourinho as Manchester United boss.
That’s according to Danny Mills who says United’s chief executive was wary about the club’s prized asset becoming increasingly disgruntled.
Mourinho was given his marching orders in December after a dismal run of form.
His relationship with Pogba – and several other players – had become very strained.
Mourinho stripped the France international of the vice captaincy and gave him a dressing down in front of his team-mates.
They also had a high-profile training ground bust up which was caught by the Sky Sports TV cameras.
And Mills insists Pogba is too valuable for the club to risk losing – and says that played a part in Mourinho’s dismissal.
“Pogba is so influential at Manchester United, he’s the biggest commercial entity by far,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast.
“There is nobody that comes close to him.
“Ed Woodward increased all the commercial contracts – 15 to 30 odd, whatever it maybe – and Pogba’s on every single poster. He’s massively important.
“They did well last season, then he goes and wins the World Cup, and he comes back and he’s not happy.
“So all the players are looking to him and going: ‘well he’s not happy, he doesn’t like the manager, he’s not playing particularly well.’
“And in the end it rubs off on other players, performances go down, the club take note and the manager goes.
“The moment he goes, Paul Pogba suddenly goes: ‘oh I’m happy now.’ And starts putting in performances.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Mourinho in the Old Trafford hot seat and has been a revelation.
The Norwegian has masterminded seven wins on the bounce and introduced a more attacking style.
They edged past Brighton 2-1 on Saturday to keep the run going.
Mills, however, is adamant that Solskjaer still has plenty to prove before he can be considered for the post full time.
“I still think there’s a long way to go for Manchester United,” he added.
“Yes, they’ve started absolutely brilliantly.
“The Tottenham game, tactically, was a little bit different in the first half.
“Solskjaer did change it, but they could have lost that game four or five-one.
“On another day they might well have done, but De Gea was sensational.
“So I think there are stronger tests to come for Manchester United, and let’s see what happens if they lose a couple of games or draw a couple.”
Source:www.express.co.uk