Richard Keys claims Jose Mourinho wanted the sack at Man United and used Paul Pogba to get it

Richard Keys has made the sensational claim that Jose Mourinho deliberately got himself the sack at Manchester United a few years ago as he left Paul Pogba out of his starting line up to get a reaction from the board.

Keys, writing in his blog, has written about Mourinho’s latest departure from a managerial position at Roma, and recalled what the Portuguese tactician supposedly told him about what really went on when he was sacked by Man Utd back in December 2018.

Mourinho had a frosty relationship with French midfielder Pogba during their time together at Old Trafford, and it seems he used the player to get himself sacked as he deliberately left him out of the team towards the end of his time in charge.

“Jose Mourinho once called Arsene Wenger ‘an expert in failure’. The irony is that it was Mourinho who went on to become the expert – racking up £80m in pay-offs!” Keys wrote.

“His latest sacking in Rome followed the usual pattern – row, rant, then retreat with the money.

“He once told me he knew he’d be sacked at United for leaving Pogba out of three consecutive games – at a time when the Frenchman’s stock was at its highest. All planned. And it worked perfectly. He wanted the sack. He got it.”

Of course, it’s not clear how reliable this claim from Keys is, though he’s been in the game for a long time and is bound to have good connections with several high-profile figures.

Many United fans will also listen to that and think it sounds perfectly believable as Mourinho seemed unhappy for much of his time at the club, and particularly in those final few weeks.

Pogba had a difficult time with MUFC and his form didn’t exactly improve much when Mourinho left either, though perhaps some fans will have a bit more sympathy with him if it turns out all these issues with Mourinho were really going on as they would surely disrupt even the best players’ careers.