It's Paul Pogba's birthday today and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was forced to defend the French midfielder on the day he turned 24.
Mourinho believes recent criticism of Pogba is motivated by "envy" and he said "it's not Paul's fault that he gets 10 times the money that some players - some very good players - did in the past ".
Speaking ahead of the Europa League last 16 tie with FC Rostov, the United boss added " the best thing is that because of his personality he doesn't give an ' S ' to what people say about him."
The problem is that money and Pogba go hand in hand because he's the world's most expensive player so whenever he has an off day the prize tag is almost always the first thing that is mentioned.
Pogba didn't have a great game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday night as his international team-mate N'Golo Kante outshone him in midfield.
In truth Pogba has yet to put in an all action performance against one of big boys since his return to Old Trafford but that doesn't mean he won't fulfil his potential.
He was always going to be up against it playing Chelsea and even more so when Ander Herrera was red carded in the first half.
Pogba has scored seven goals and chipped in with five assists in 40 matches since his record move from Juventus. His best games have come when Carrick has played the deep role in midfield which allows Pogba more freedom. He's so athletic so Mourinho needs to find a way of letting Pogba stretch those long legs in midfield.
Pogba was asked on his return what his best position was and replied: " I would say midfielder on the left. If you play a three I can play on the right of left, but I feel more comfortable to play on my left.
" I can do it [holding midfielder], but I feel more comfortable a bit higher. "
Pogba just gets on with it and plays wherever he is told but until he becomes a consistent performer, the " envy " of the critics won't go away because of that price tag.
