Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last six months, you will have heard this, that and everything about a certain Paul Pogba.

After all, the Frenchman certainly isn’t low-profile and is very much extravagant about both his skills and haircuts. It has undoubtedly divided the opinions of supporters and now even Jose Mourinho himself.

It has emerged that the Special One, like many others, eventually lost their temper with the behavior of his star acquisition. In fact, it was the infamous ‘emoji incident’ in particular that tipped the Portuguese off the edge.

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Emoji promotion

Over the past few years, text messages and seemingly any form of communication has become inundated with emojis and emoticons.

However, January 2017 saw the smiley faces and cheeky monkeys replaced by no other than Pogba himself. What proved his latest campaign of self-promotion saw fans able to express their emotions by calling upon the various angles of the Manchester United man’s face.

Yes, that’s really what modern football has come to.

Well, to the say the scheme didn’t work out well for the 24-year-old would be putting it mildly. The day of the launch happened to coincide with a pivotal Premier League clash between United and Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The Frenchman spurned a brilliant opportunity to give the Red Devils the lead in the first half, only to see his one-on-one effort dribble wide.

Then, in what proved the game’s turning point, Pogba produced an inexplicable handball in the 27th minute to practically gift Liverpool a penalty. James Milner obliged and found the net.

Only a last gasp equaliser from Zlatan Ibrahimovic spared the blushes of United’s emoji-wielding midfielder.

Mourinho anger

However, the Mirror has revealed that Pogba didn’t escape the wrath of Mourinho after that anarchic Liverpool showing.

The emoji situation proved the tip of the iceberg for the club and their concerns over Pogba’s focus on self-promotion. It provoked stern words over how the Frenchman should invest more energy into his football and not his image.

Mourinho has told the ex-Juventus man to cut down on his commercial activities and has threatened to bench him if he feels he is becoming otherwise distracted.

The 53-year-old may have been able to let the Stormzy videos and haircuts slide, but Mourinho demanded footballing focus in January. After all, United’s form was beginning to pick up steam and the Portuguese didn’t want the talent of Pogba to go to waste.

Nevertheless, the prolific social media user remains very active online. While many managers warn of the dangers of such activity, it seems United are at the mercy of the times and the very nature of the 24-year-old.

When you pay £89 million for a player though, you need to know what you’re signing up for and United got exactly what Pogba said on the tin. Admittedly however, not even Nostradamus could have foreseen emoji gate.

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