“John come here please...when did Paul post on Instagram?”, Sky Sports managed to take what little bit of audio they could from the latest footage of Jose Mourinho’s spat with Paul Pogba.
Allegedly, the row stems from Pogba’s Instagram story during last night’s game with Derby County; how fitting that seems to be in this battle of old and new at Old Trafford.
For years now, the Manchester United board have been stuck in a struggle between the new football world and the old.
Only this year did United launch their first women’s team when their rivals have had theirs for years.
If you have been to Old Trafford recently, you will have seen that the once great stadium has aged over the past decade.
As a business as well, United have been caught between the old - being a football club - and the new - being a brand; earlier this week Martyn Ziegler summarised a 25-minute phone call with investors: ‘We’re doing very, very well on social media”
That’s all off the field. On the field is no different and how the United board deal with it could shape the club’s future.
Think about this, how many times have you heard a pundit give out about Pogba’s hair? Or about his social media activity?
In comparison with a conversation about his midfield positioning, for example? Has it been even? The answer is no and the follow-up question should be: why?
Clearly, the problem is not with Pogba’s footballing ability - his passing reel is enough to show you that - but with his as John Giles has highlighted before; his footballing brain.
He hasn’t matured as a midfield player as Wolves’ goal following his dispossession showed.
These are genuine complaints. Whether he posted a video on Instagram during a game he isn’t featuring in is not and that is key in this conversation.
Does it show immaturity? Maybe, but there is also an argument to say that it isn’t, that this is the world we now live in.
Not only is online presence massive with people in Pogba’s age group, but he also has a brand which lives predominantly online.
This is hardly any different to the rift between Alex Ferguson and David Beckham.
Ferguson complained on numerous occasions about Beckham's off-field 'distractions' and stated that he should concentrate on his football instead.
We saw how that ended and it seems that a similar outcome could come to fruition this time around.
The difference between the situations is that Beckham's brand was built during his time at United - Pogba had his in advance.
Mourinho should have seen this coming and if he had an issue with a players' use of social media, why did he buy Pogba in the first place?
That online presence was also one of the reasons the board were so keen to spend the big bucks needed to bring him to the club.
So is the issue with Mourinho or Pogba here? Is it that big a deal that he videos himself dancing and laughing with fellow footballers?
As it stands, it seems like it is a big issue for Mourinho to the extent where he has stripped him of the vice-captaincy and so we have finally reached the crossroads that seemed inevitable from the beginning.
Do the United board support the manager, his decisions and sell Pogba or do they back their player and most valuable business asset?
It’s one decision that could shape the future of what Manchester United is going forward.
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