Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has claimed that Paul Pogba will be bothered by Graeme Souness's criticism.
The Scot has regularly called Pogba's performances into question since his return to United in 2016, prompting the French international to recently claim that he "didn't know" who the Liverpool legend was.
Souness hit back by challenging Pogba to "put his medals on the table", but Berbatov has defended Pogba's reaction after a war of words reminiscent of a "Greek tragedy".
"I think this is pretty personal now, you can sense it the way these two talk about each other. I find it all too funny, it's like Greek tragedy. Back in my early days, even when I was in my later playing days, social media wasn't so big. It wasn't like nowadays when players can easily get abused and you can see the opinion of pundits everywhere and it can affect you," he told Betfair.
"We are all humans and we can all say 'it doesn't bother you' but trust me, it does. It is necessary for a player to hear an outside opinion, but it must come from someone who has been there and done that, someone credible who knows what they are talking about and what it is like to be a footballer.
"However, some people talk for the sake of talking, so that they get noticed, and that can be irritating and disrespectful. With Souness and Pogba, I find it all a little strange, but when someone constantly criticises you, of course you are going to snap.
"Even if it is good criticism, if it is constantly aimed at you and it doesn't matter what you are doing, at some point you are going to be like: 'Wait a minute, am I the only player on the f****** planet here?' It doesn't matter who the other person is, you are going to say something back and defend yourself, like what Pogba is doing, it's normal."
Pogba has been limited to only eight appearances across all competitions this season, but is due to be back available if and when the season returns.
Barney Corkhill
