Why United should back Pogba

Mourinho will likely be gone soon anyway

Jose Mourinho has never completed more than three full seasons at any of his clubs, and given his mixed successes at Old Trafford so far he is unlikely to start now.

With that in mind, it would be a strange move from the United hierarchy to lose one of their most talented players in order to protect a manager who will probably be gone within a year.

Pogba has huge commercial appeal

Rightly or wrongly, any major club in the modern era is governed to a large degree by commercial interests - and nowhere is this more apparent than at Old Trafford.

This is a club where earlier this week managing director Richard Arnold pointed to United's app receiving an average rating of 4.9 stars as evidence of the club's progress.

READ MORE: Pogba, Mourinho in frosty exchange at United training

READ MORE: How did Mourinho’s previous bust-ups play out?

Paul Pogba is United's most recognisable player, and is hugely important to their global brand. It would be a major departure from their overall strategy if United jettisoned their most prized asset for the sake of an increasingly divisive manager.

World Cup showed how effective Pogba can be

How exactly Didier Deschamps was able to get the best out of Pogba in Russia has been much debated - Mourinho suggested he was more focused than at club level - but his performances demonstrated how effective he can be in the right framework.

Clearly that framework does not exist at United, with Pogba increasingly resembling a disgruntled office worker who will essentially ignore his boss's instructions.

If Pogba's best can help deliver a World Cup, that should surely a trump a manager who has not won the club equivalent of the Champions League since 2010.

Mourinho has lost his relevance

Mourinho's relative lack of success in the last eight years - no Champions Leagues and just two league titles compared with two and seven in the previous seven years - suggests he is not the force he once was.

The fallout with Pogba could give United the excuse to make a decision that looks increasingly likely to happen in the summer anyway.

Pogba not alone in incurring manager's wrath

The number of players Mourinho has fallen out with during his career is even higher than the average rating of United's app. At Old Trafford alone, Luke Shaw, Bastian Shweinsteiger and Anthony Martial are among those to have clashed with Mourinho.

It looks as though this is more an issue with his abrasive style than Pogba. The decision to openly tell United's players that Pogba would not captain United again was a particularly pointed move.

Why United should back Mourinho

Undermining manager's authority can't be condoned

Even if Mourinho is not in charge next season, allowing a player to so publicly undermine the manager as Pogba did over the weekend can't be deemed to be acceptable.

Rewarding Pogba's outburst in this way would set a dangerous precedent, particularly at a time when player-power is more prevalent than ever.

READ MORE: Gossip: United want £200m for Pogba

Pogba's performances don't merit special treatment

While he may have starred for France at the World Cup, Pogba has never quite hit those heights for United, where his displays have been marred by inconsistency.

It's one thing indulging a star player who steps out of line - see Suarez, Luis and Cantona, Eric - but Pogba's performance levels have not yet met those standards.

He would attract a monumental fee

Even with Pogba's agitation for a transfer slightly weakening United's hand, the club would still be in for an almighty windfall if they were to sell.

Pogba is under contract until 2021 and according to the reputable CIES Football Observatory is valued at around €150m. Realistically United could probably fetch closer to €200m depending on Barcelona's desperation levels in January or next summer.

Losing Pogba would quieten the Raiola circus

Even those at United who are siding with Pogba must despair at the constant headline-grabbing behaviour of his agent Mino Raiola.

In one of many outbursts, Raiola reacted to criticism of Pogba by Paul Scholes in August by saying that Scholes "wouldn’t recognise a leader if he was in front of Sir Winston Churchill".

Incidents like these are unwanted distractions and add to the sense that Pogba may be more hassle than he is worth.

Pogba is replacable

The money United would bring in for Pogba would leave them in a strong position to find an adequate replacement, and/or strengthen in other areas.

The way Liverpool spent the Philippe Coutinho money should be the paradigm here.