Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has said that Paul Pogba showed he is on the same level as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar, during their 1-0 loss to Barcelona.
United wrapped up their pre-season tour of the United States with defeat to the La Liga giants at the International Champions Cup, but Pogba was impressive for the Premier League team.
Mourinho praised the 24-year-old France international after the game, saying: “With Messi and Neymar, there is only one [of each]. There are not two. [Luis] Suarez, [Andres] Iniesta, [Gerard] Pique, Ronaldo, [Gareth] Bale, [Luka] Modric, Toni Kroos, there is only one of them. So they can only play for one club and not two. We cannot have them. They belong to the clubs.
“You can be working very hard tactically to improve your team, to improve your players, but some players are special and against that nature there is nothing you can do. In the real matches you try to compensate the difference in quality with a certain tactical organisation, and with that you can win.
“In football it is possible for a team to be better than the sum of the parts. But the parts are amazing. Their relationship with the ball is amazing. You can argue about the occupation of space, tactics and compact blocks, but the player’s relationship with the ball is still the most important thing. Even as an opponent on the bench like I am, it is beautiful to see the guys’ relationship with the ball.
“Today, one of my players, Paul Pogba, showed the level. He showed that he belongs at that level.”