Mourinho Breaks Silence: Why He Dropped Pogba for Mystery Man United Star—"It Was the Bare Minimum"

José Mourinho has jokingly revealed that he "dropped" Paul Pogba to give Scott McTominay a chance during his tenure as Manchester United boss, which is quite remarkable considering Pogba was the world's most costly player at that time.

McTominay earned his United first-team debut under Mourinho's guidance, rather unexpectedly, back in 2017.

Jump ahead over eight years and Mourinho led Benfica to a 2–0 victory against a Napoli side that included McTominay in this week's Champions League encounter.

Following the match, the Portuguese manager was carrying a bag as he walked into the press conference area. When a journalist asked about its contents, Mourinho confirmed it belonged to him and wasn't meant as a present for anyone present: "It's Scott McTominay's jersey."

Mourinho went on to explain: "I promoted him, I dropped Paul Pogba to make room for him at Manchester United. The minimum he could do was hand over his jersey."

McTominay's first appearance came during a Premier League match against Arsenal at Old Trafford in May 2017. The academy graduate was merely a late substitution, coming on for Juan Mata in the closing moments of a 2–0 loss, but he was selected that day while Pogba remained on the substitutes' bench.

His initial senior start came two weeks afterward when Mourinho, keeping one eye on the Europa League final versus Ajax set for three days later, made significant changes for Crystal Palace's visit on the Premier League's final matchday.

McTominay started in the middle of the park alongside Pogba, with opportunities given to other academy products Josh Harrop, Demetri Mitchell, Joel Castro Pereira, Axel Tuanzebe and Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

The Scotland midfielder ultimately featured in 255 United matches before his permanent transfer to Napoli in 2024. Since arriving in Italy, he's flourished and netted 14 Serie A goals in under one-and-a-half campaigns—just five short of his complete Premier League goal count across seven seasons.

McTominay also holds the current Serie A Player of the Year award for his contribution to Napoli's championship triumph.

Mourinho Shaped McTominay's International Career Choice

McTominay is celebrated as a Scotland international who has been the catalyst behind his nation's first World Cup qualification since 1998. However, he was born and brought up in England—with Scottish heritage through his father—and could have represented either country.

As a regular at Manchester United, McTominay naturally caught England's attention, despite never playing for the Three Lions at youth level. Alex McLeish, who was Scotland's manager then, acknowledges Mourinho for informing him that the player wasn't likely to pick England.

McLeish subsequently visited United's training facility, one day before Gareth Southgate was scheduled to arrive, to speak with both McTominay and Mourinho, who proved incredibly supportive.

"I called José that morning," McLeish recalled recently. "'Come here for 12, let's have lunch and discuss Scott and then we'll bring him into the room.' He couldn't have been more helpful," the former Scotland manager added. "I'd felt Scott was interested, but I assumed he'd still need considerable convincing. He entered and was quite decisive in his thinking that he wanted to play for Scotland."

Regarding his connection with Mourinho in his own words, McTominay shared on the High Performance podcast in 2024: "I'm deeply grateful to him and my family adore him."