Jose Mourinho has taken a thinly veiled swipe at “His Excellency” Paul Pogba and claimed he risked being sacked if he handled the Manchester United midfielder in the wrong way.

The collapse of Mourinho’s relationship with Pogba was one of the reasons behind United’s decision to sack the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager in December and bring in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

But Mourinho - who in January launched an attack on player power at Old Trafford - has suggested he was always treading on eggshells where Pogba was concerned.

Pogba was stripped of the vice-captaincy by Mourinho in September not long after an incident following a 2-0 win over Burnley, when the Portuguese was angered by the club record £89 million signing leaving Turf Moor in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce instead of travelling back to Manchester on the team coach.

Detailing the story in a coaching seminar in Portugal on Monday, Mourinho referred mockingly to Pogba as “His Excellency” and claimed he was at risk of being sent “on vacation” by United if he failed to handle the midfielder in the right way.