Jose Mourinho Denies Conflict with Paul Pogba at Manchester United

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho on Friday hit back at reports suggesting his relationship with Paul Pogba is on the rocks after he substituted the Frenchman twice in the Red Devils' past three matches.

Speaking ahead of United's FA Cup clash with Huddersfield Town on Saturday, Mourinho branded the claim Pogba is unhappy at Old Trafford as a "big lie" and denied any rift.

Per Rob Dawson of ESPN FC, the United boss said: "I think you are nice with your words because when you say a lot of speculation, you should say a lot of lies. A big lie that our relation is not good, that we don't communicate, that we don't agree with his positions and his involvement in the dynamic of the team."

The Portuguese added that the reality is Pogba simply has not played well enough recently and that "it's my problem and Paul's to improve his performance level."

United have lost two of their past three games. They were defeated by Tottenham Hotspur at the end of January and then by Newcastle United last time out. A 2-0 win over Huddersfield came in between.

Mourinho took the 24-year-old midfielder off just after the hour mark against both Spurs and Newcastle, while the France international started on the bench for the win against Huddersfield.

Given Pogba has almost invariably played the whole 90 minutes when he has started a match under Mourinho since returning to United in 2016, it was destined to be notable when he was hooked early, especially twice in quick succession.

However, as far as United's manager is concerned, it has not caused a rift between himself and the talismanic midfielder.