Paul Pogba remains a “great player” in the eyes of fellow World Cup winner Robert Pires and has been urged to settle his Manchester United differences with Jose Mourinho.
Two high-profile figures at Old Trafford have become caught up in a long-running saga which is doing neither any favours.
Public outbursts regarding a supposed lack of attacking football and stripping of the Red Devils vice-captaincy have only served to spark transfer talk and provide an unwelcome distraction during a testing period for United on the field.
Pires believes a butting of heads is to be expected at times from two “warriors”, but he concedes that issues need to be ironed out if a warring duo driven by the desire to be successful are to get back on the same page.
The former France international told talkSPORT of the sporting circus engulfing a compatriot in Manchester: “For Mourinho and Paul Pogba, the most important [thing] is to talk to find a good relation.
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“Paul Pogba, he fights for the Man Utd shirt, Mourinho is the same.
“So, for Man Utd, the most important [thing] is to win something at the end of the season.
“Maybe they can find the solution, to talk around a table because they are two winners and two warriors, everything now is possible in football.”
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Premier League title winner Pires added on a 25-year-old midfielder who has remained inconsistent at club level after returning from a memorable summer in Russia with his country: “Paul Pogba is a great player.
“He won the World Cup with France, he’s now playing for Man Utd.
“He knows Man Utd is maybe the best club in the world, so they have a lot of pressure, but Paul Pogba is a great player.”
With Pogba struggling to find form, talk of a potential January move elsewhere has resurfaced.
La Liga giants Barcelona are considered to be keeping a close eye on events in England, with Josep Maria Bartomeu refusing to rule out a winter raid for a proven performer.
Mourinho, meanwhile, finds himself falling under ever-increasing pressure, with a 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday seeing his ongoing presence at OId Trafford called into question once more.