05 December 2023 , 09:38
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Nemanja Matic has called out Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho for "always" being late to training at Manchester United.
Matic, who left Old Trafford in May 2022 after a five-year spell, was forced to become part of an "internal disciplinary committee" and start a fine system in an effort to raise the standards on and off the pitch. The former Chelsea midfielder, now playing for French side Rennes aged 35, picked out Pogba and Sancho as two big-name players who couldn't get their acts together.
Matic, whose fine system tallied up to an eye-watering £75,000 kitty, told Austrian outlet YuPlanet: "At Chelsea, players acted professionally. They were punctual and were never late for training. But at United it happened almost every day.
"Among the players who would always be late were Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho, and a couple of other players. The rest of us who were always on time were angry so we decided to form a kind of an internal disciplinary committee with me serving as its president.
"I put a sheet of paper up on the wall where I documented the names of individuals arriving late. During one particular season we collected around £75,000 in fines. We had planned to use the money to throw a party in London but we didn't due to the Covid outbreak."
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The 35-year-old's revelation comes amid Sancho's exile from the United first-team, with manager Erik ten Hag refusing to select him until he apologises for effectively accusing him of lying on social media three months ago. Pogba, meanwhile, left United at the same time as Matic, re-joining Juventus but struggling with injuries and allegations of doping in the 18 months since.
Jadon Sancho last played for Manchester United in August (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)Matic's comments echo claims made by former boss Jose Mourinho following his departure in December 2018. Speaking at a coaching seminar in Portugal, Mourinho suggested that Pogba left the Turf Moor in his chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce instead of travelling back to Manchester on the team bus following a 2-0 victory over Burnley.
"I told him, 'If we went to London and you wanted to stay there, that would be one thing. But this is close, it doesn't make sense'," the ex-Red Devils boss claimed. "The guy was upset. But then we won the game and he asked me again. Because I was happy, I gave in a little and said, 'At least leave on the bus and ask your chauffeur to catch up with you 10 minutes from the stadium, then go as you wish'.
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Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba often failed to see eye to eye (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)"And this guy in the locker-room still wasn't happy. I went to the press conference and when I arrived at the team bus, parked beside it was a Rolls-Royce with his chauffeur. After all, the car was new and His Excellency would like to leave the stadium in his Rolls-Royce.
"Now how do we deal with this? You [tell him] never go in the Rolls? You can go when I'm happy? Or you solve this thing in another way to get me 'on vacation'."