Only thing Paul Scholes does is criticise, says Mourinho

Manchester United's Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho leaves the Court in Pozuelo de Alarcon, near Madrid on November 03, 2017.<br />Jose was summoned by a Madrid court over accusations of tax fraud during his time in charge of Real Madrid. / AFP PHOTO / OSCAR DEL POZO

Jose Mourinho launched an astonishing attack on Manchester United legend Paul Scholes on Monday night.Scholes has been outspoken on the form of Paul Pogba, claiming the midfielder is unfit and ‘just strolling through games’.

Mourinho hit back in blistering fashion after the midfielder’s man-of-the-match performance during Monday’s 2-0 victory at Everton.‘The only thing Paul Scholes does is criticise,’ said Mourinho. ‘He doesn’t comment, he criticises.‘It’s not Paul Pogba’s fault that he makes much more money than Paul Scholes. It’s just the way football is. I think Scholes will be in the history books as a phenomenal player, but not as a pundit.’

Speaking on BT Sport on New Year’s Eve, Scholes said: “Where is the Paul Pogba we saw at Juventus?“He was all over the pitch, he was battling, he was tackling, he was sprinting to people, he was scoring goals from 25 yards out. He is just strolling through games.

Another who has been aiming digs is Noel Gallagher, who took great delight in his hit Wonderwall blaring out of the away dressing room at Old Trafford after last month’s derby win. The Oasis star and City fan publicly labelled Mourinho ‘the most hated man in football’ days later.

He said of City’s win over United: ‘I watched it about six inches away from Gary Neville. To do that to United at Old Trafford and see Neville having a meltdown, then for them to play one of my songs at a volume that was offensive to the most hated man in world football, was probably the greatest 48 hours of my entire life. I don’t think it’ll ever be bettered.’

Mourinho added: ‘The performance was really good, so maybe I’m lucky this time and the kings of rock ‘n’ roll who said I wasn’t performing last month will say I’m performing.’

Mourinho was not done with Scholes. ‘If one day Paul decides to be a manager, I wish he can be 25 per cent as successful as myself,’ he said. ‘So 25 is around six trophies. If he is 25 per cent he will be quite happy but in my mind Paul Scholes is one of the best players I have ever seen playing in midfield.

“He gave so much to my club that I can only thank him because the prestige of this club is based on people like him. Not every one of us has to be phenomenal like he was as a player.

“Paul Pogba tries to do his best all the time and sometimes he plays very well, sometimes he plays well, sometimes he doesn’t play so well.“I think they (ex-players turned pundits) would love to be here, in the club and that’s a problem that I cannot resolve.’