REUTERS/David Klein
In the modern era of football, agents hold all the power.
When things are going well, the relations between clubs and agents will be amicable enough. When things go bad, that is when the transfer gossip and speculation emerge.
There is no better example of this than Mino Raiola, who holds a reputation for his history of mega-money deals.
The Italian's clientele boasts some of the biggest names in the sport, having represented the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pavel Nedved and, of course, Paul Pogba.
Taking to Twitter
Paul Pogba is a player who is never far from the sporting headlines. His agent has done nothing to help his cause.
This week, Raiola, who also seems to always be in the news, launched an attack on ex-Manchester United star Paul Scholes on social media.
The first post came at 7:30am on Tuesday morning as Raiola tweeted:
Paul Scholes should become sports director and advise Woodward to sell Pogba. Would be sleepless nights to find Pogba a new club.
This remark was in retaliation to Scholes's criticism of Pogba after United's disappointing 3-2 defeat to Brighton on Sunday. The pundit specifically called Pogba out for his lack of leadership, claiming that the Frenchman is too inconsistent.
Raiola, however, didn't stop there, adding more fuel to the fire a few minutes later when he tweeted:
Some people need to talk for fear of being forgotten. Paul Scholes wouldn't recognize a leader if he was in front of Sir Winston Churchill.
These remarks have inevitably gone down badly with the Old Trafford faithful, who have been calling out for Pogba to leave his agent and get away from his distracting nonsense for some time now.
This was what Romelu Lukaku did last April and it was an action which went down well with United fans.
Is Pogba committed to United?
This is of course not the first time that Raiola has created uncertainty over the future of Pogba. During his second spell at United, the Italian reportedly offered the Frenchman to Barcelona.
For all headaches and speculation that the agent causes, one has to wonder why Pogba continues to stick by the man who draws in such negative press and comments from fans and pundits alike.
Raiola was the man who orchestrated Pogba's return to Old Trafford in the now-famous £79 million deal. But things have now reached a point of no return such that, if the Frenchman is now committed to the club, he should leave Raiola.
REUTERS/David KleinWhile the two evidently have a strong relationship, there should be questions raised as to why Pogba allows such behaviour to continue if he has no plans to leave the club?
There is, of course, the underlying concern regarding Pogba and Jose Mourinho's relationship, a relationship which appears to be on the rocks as things stand.
Under Mourinho's system, Pogba is yet to showcase his true ability consistently and there has been speculation that the midfielder is not fond of the football being implanted on the side.
No Pogba, no party
Despite a heroic summer with France, it has been a rather miserable start to the season for Paul Pogba.
Against Brighton last Sunday, the Frenchman looked both disinterested and sloppy: a factor which hurt Manchester United's build-up play significantly.
When the central midfielder gets going, the Red Devils look a different side and, with new recruit Fred settling in, they desperately need their main man to get them ticking over in games.
In what has already been a slow start to the season for United, Pogba and Mourinho need to put any quarrels behind them quickly so that the club can get on with the task of playing football.
A perfect start for this might begin with the sacking of Mino Raiola.
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