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Jose Mourinho accuses Paul Scholes of being jealous of Paul Pogba's money after criticism of Man Utd star
Jose Mourinho has hit back at the “kings of rock and roll” of football punditry who criticise him – and even accused one of them, former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes, of being jealous of the money earned by Paul Pogba.
Scholes, in his role as a pundit for BT Sport, claimed that Pogba “doesn’t look fit” and did not play like a “£90 million midfielder”, also accusing Mourinho of failing as manager following the recent goalless draw against Southampton.
After the 2-0 win away to Everton, Mourinho did not hold back and also claimed that other former United players who work in the media were hard on him because “they would love to be in the club and that is a problem I cannot resolve”.
Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Ryan Giggs are among those working, or have worked, as pundits, as does Owen Hargreaves and Roy Keane, and Mourinho has clearly been upset by the criticism he has faced - although he focussed his attention on Scholes.
“Maybe I’m lucky this time and the kings of the rock and roll who say I was underperforming last time think I have well done this time,” Mourinho said. Asked specifically about Scholes’ comments, he added: “I think the only thing Paul Scholes does is to criticise. I don’t think he comments, he criticises, which is a different thing.
“Not every one of us has to be phenomenal like he was as a player. He was a phenomenal player - that does not mean we all have to be phenomenal. Paul (Pogba) tries to do his best all the time. Sometimes he plays very well, sometimes he plays well, sometimes he doesn’t play so well. It’s not Paul’s fault that he made much more money than Paul Scholes. It’s not Paul’s fault, it’s just the way football is.”
Mourinho continued: “Scholes will be in history as a phenomenal player, not as a pundit. I prefer to look at him as a phenomenal player of the club I am proud to represent. Every day I try to do my best. If Paul one day decides to be a manager I wish that he can be 25 per cent as successful as myself. Fifty per cent of that is 12.5 silverware. 25 per cent is around six. If he’s 25 per cent he will be quite happy. In my mind, Paul Scholes is a phenomenal player. One of the best I have ever seen in midfield. He gave so much to my club that I can only thank him for that. The prestige of this club is based on people like him, so successful here.”
Despite the qualification of constantly referring to Scholes as a “phenomenal” player, it is a dangerous game for Mourinho, who went into this match with a run of four games without a win, including three successive Premier League draws, to be quite so critical of former United players who are club legends. But he did not hold back.
“I think they (pundits) would love to be here,” he said. “They would love to be in the club and that is a problem I cannot resolve.”
Mourinho also suggested that Romelu Lukaku, ruled out of the Everton game as an injury precaution, having suffered a clash of heads against Southampton, may surprisingly be fit for the FA Cup tie at home to Derby County on Friday. Mourinho had suggested that Lukaku would be out for another week but later said that because the striker had not lost consciousness against Southampton he may be fit.
Despite the win, Mourinho claimed United were “in trouble” with the injuries they faced – nine players were out and Chris Smalling, on the bench against Everton, was not fit enough to come on. "I don't know about transfers,” he said, with the January window now open. “In this moment we are in trouble, in two to three weeks time maybe we recover and we breathe in a different way. Can we improve now or do we wait until the summer? I cannot say."
Everton manager Sam Allardyce said he hoped to know within the next 24 hours if his club’s attempt to sign Besiktas striker Cenk Tosun would be successful, amid fears that the Turkish club have upped their asking price.
“We have done all we can,” Allardyce said. “I presume we will know in the next 24 hours if we are successful or not. Our deal is in. Our deal is there and it’s up to them whether they accept it or not.”