Jose Mourinho Reveals Why He Named Paul Pogba as Captain for Leicester Game

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has revealed that a long-standing history with the club is why he chose Paul Pogba to captain his side during their 2-2 draw with Leicester City on Saturday evening, as well as the Frenchman holding the potential to become the long-term armband bearer at Old Trafford for many years to come.

The Red Devils looked to have curtailed their Carabao Cup quarter-final exit hangover as midfielder Juan Mata netted twice to counteract Jamie Vardy's early opener for the Foxes.

However, a second-half stoppage-time Harry Maguire sucker punch forced the north west giants to settle for the stalemate and fall even further behind league leaders Manchester City following their emphatic 4-0 win over Bournemouth earlier in the day.

🗣 Man United fans: "Just wait for Paul Pogba to return." 😎

🤔 Since Paul Pogba returned:

✅ Bristol City 2-1 Man Utd
✅ Leicester 2-2 Man Utd pic.twitter.com/Lw8mdlraAR
— SPORF (@Sporf) December 24, 2017

The full-time whistle will have come as a disappointment for all those involved with United, who really should have put the game out of sight in the second-half, however maybe more so for record signing Pogba - who donned the captain's armband for the first time in the Premier League after taking up the role in the Champions League earlier this term.

The 24-year-old was afforded the opportunity due to Antonio Valencia, who has sported it for the majority of the campaign due to club captain Michael Carrick being sidelined, being unavailable for selection after picking up a hamstring injury during the Red Devils' 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion last weekend.

Man City's 13 point gap over Man Utd will be the biggest between first and second place on Christmas Day in top-flight history. 😶 pic.twitter.com/Qk7jNQlpGl
— bet365 (@bet365) December 23, 2017

It may have come as a surprise to some to see the France international be chosen as the leader, with several other senior players on the pitch, however Mourinho has revealed that he had both the past and future in mind when making the decision.

"The decision behind that is that in the Champions League we made him captain a couple of times when Valencia was not playing and people like Zlatan and Smalling were not playing", the Portuguese manager told his post-match press conference, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.

Jose Mourinho says his Man Utd players are "childish" and "immature". pic.twitter.com/TmVd3PRPNO
— 24/7 Football (@247FootballUK) December 24, 2017

"And today we felt that it could be an extra motivation for him and that's it, no special decision.

"Probably the fact that he's a young guy and made in the club academy, and will have many, many years to play in the club and has conditions to be captain in the future, it's just that."