‘Caption this’: Paul Pogba faces backlash led by Gary Neville after posting controversial picture on Instagram shortly after nemesis Mourinho is axed – but Ian Wright jumps to his defence even though he quickly deleted it
Paul Pogba faced a backlash led by former Manchester United defender Gary Neville after reacting to Jose Mourinho’s sacking with a controversial Instagram post – which he then deleted 10 minutes later.
Pogba put up a smiling picture of himself and wrote ‘caption this’ prompting Neville to respond on Twitter: ‘You do one as well!’ Neville’s fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher also weighed in, criticising Pogba, who deleted his post.
France international Pogba has had his problems with Mourinho over the last few months. He was stripped of the vice captaincy over the early months of the season after issues behind the scenes.
Paul Pogba uploaded and then deleted a cheeky Instagram post reacting to Tuesday’s news
Pogba and Jose Mourinho had their issues while the Portuguese manager was in charge
Pogba (top left) was left on the bench during Sunday afternoon’s loss against Liverpool
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win per cent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Premier League | 93 | 50 | 26 | 17 | 151 | 86 | 53.80% |
| UEFA Europa League | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 8 | 66.70% |
| Champions League | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 9 | 57.10% |
| English FA Cup | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 4 | 80.00% |
| English League Cup | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 11 | 70.00% |
| English Community Shield | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 100.00% |
| UEFA Super Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.00% |
| Total | 144 | 84 | 32 | 28 | 244 | 121 | 58.30% |
And he was also dropped for the match against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
Pogba sat on the bench for the entire 90 minutes as his side lost the game 3-1.
Shortly after Mourinho was axed, Pogba uploaded a photo to Instagram in which he has a cheeky grin on his face, and captioned the post: ‘Caption this!’.
The 25-year-old deleted the post 10 minutes later after over 64,000 people had liked it.
Jamie Carragher also weighed in, replying to Neville: ‘Spot on! Plenty of clubs in Europe doing fine without him!!’
Patrice Evra also chipped in: ‘The thing that is annoying me the most right now is why are people so focused on Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho.
‘Let’s focus on rebuilding something solid instead of being in a playground. Doing this is only disrespecting the badge, from now we only need positivity.’
But former Arsenal star Ian Wright defended him, writing on his Instagram: ‘Chill! That Paul Pogba tweet was obviously sponsored / automated. No way the player or Adidas want to risk their relationship with the club like that.
Ian Wright backed the Manchester United midfielder in an extended post on his Instagram
He suggested that it was clear that the post was automated and backed Pogba in the row
‘End of the road for Mourinho but not the time to try and blame individuals. Team must now get on with it and take the pressure that comes with today’s decision.’
His agent Mino Raiola held talks with Juventus on Monday over a potential move but United do not wish to sell Pogba.
Raiola, Pogba’s agent, is understood to have discussed a number of his clients with the Italian champions, who hold an interest in re-signing the midfielder they sold to United for £89million back in 2016.
Pogba had fallen out of favour with Mourinho and is considered a divisive figure around the dressing room.
His outlook on leaving United is likely to have changed now that Mourinho has left Old Trafford.
There was a training ground bust-up and Pogba was seeking an exit from United next month
