Jose Mourinho was unimpressed with Paul Scholes’ criticism of Paul Pogba following the 0-0 draw with Southampton and slammed the pundit for his comments.
Scholes questioned Pogba’s Southampton performance on BT Sports’ Premier League Tonight,and wondered whether the midfielder was up to the task required of him.
Mourinho waited until after the 2-0 victory against Everton on Monday to respond to Scholes’ criticism and didn’t hold back.
The Man United manager implied the Class of ’92 legend was jealous of Pogba’s bigger bank balance before condemning Scholes’ ability to be a pundit.
“It’s not Paul’s fault he made much more money than Paul Scholes, it’s just the way football is,” said Mourinho, as quoted by The Sun.
“The only thing Paul Scholes does is criticise, I don’t think he comments, he criticises, which is a different thing.”
“Scholes will go down in history as a phenomenal player, not as a pundit.”
Pogba is a key member of the Manchester United squad having made 17 appearances across all competitions this season.
The midfielder has managed to score three goals and grab eight assists so far, with all but one of his assists coming in the Premier League.
OPINION
Scholes’ criticism of Pogba after the Southampton game was unnecessarily harsh. To question the player’s training regime and suggest he is not up to the job Manchester United want him to do, was insulting given Pogba’s past performances and undeniable talent. However, it’s typical Mourinho to wait until a more positive result in order to call out a pundit for his comments. Mourinho seems to have achieved his goal with his comments because by implying Scholes is jealous, he has changed the subject of the conversation. People were talking about Manchester United’s recent poor performances and now they’re focusing on Scholes’ qualities as a pundit. Nevertheless, the bank balance jibe is a new low blow, even by Mourinho’s Machiavellian standards.