‘Like Boyfriend And Girlfriend’: Paul Pogba Opens Up About His Relationship With Jose Mourinho

French midfielder Paul Pogba has opened up on his relationship with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. Pogba, who is currently serving a ban due to doping, recently spoke to the Daily Mail about his bond with his former boss.

The France international seemingly had a tumultuous time at Old Trafford when Mourinho was the club’s in charge between 2016 to 2018.

In the interview, the Frenchman has now claimed the player-manager duo were like ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’. He even admitted to wanting to reconcile with Mourinho.

“Our relationship was like boyfriend and girlfriend, we were breaking up and making up all the time,” Pogba said.

Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho were not on the best of terms during their time together at Manchester United. Despite the soured bond, Pogba revealed how Mourinho played a major role in his move back to England from Juventus.

“It started great, he was one of the reasons, I went back to Manchester because I spoke to him and he convinced me to come back,” he said. The Frenchman then claimed it wasn’t him who started a rift between them. “I don’t know why it turned to a nightmare and us fighting, I didn’t start the fight,” Pogba said.

The Paul Pogba-Jose Mourinho duo also had a fair amount of disagreements at Manchester United.

Speaking about those squabbles, Pogba said, “We disagreed like managers and players do sometimes. But there’s a lot of respect from me to him.” He added, “If I see him tomorrow, it’s a big hug! But one day we will have to sit down together and discuss it.”

Following his second stint at Manchester United, Paul Pogba signed another four-deal with Juventus in 2022. Nearly two years later, the French midfielder was handed a ban after testing positive for DHEA in August 2023.

Juventus did not terminate Pogba’s contract immediately after the ban as he appealed against the ban in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

The four-year ban initially began with Paul Pogba’s suspension in September 2023 after he tested positive for testosterone metabolites. A counter-analysis followed which also returned with a positive result. In December, the prosecutors requested a standard four-year ban under the World Anti-Doping Code for failing the test. Pogba even had to take a pay cut that reduced his €10 million-a-year salary to just €42,177 per year at Juventus.

The doping suspension was reduced earlier this month. Paul Pogba’s suspension was slashed following an appeal and it was reduced from four years to 18 months as the Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted the FIFA World Cup-winning midfielder’s argument.