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Cape Town - Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has revealed that it was "hard" to keep Paul Pogba out of the clutches of “another big club”.
The midfielder signed for the Red Devils in a world-record deal worth £89million in the summer transfer window after a drawn out saga came to an end.
Real Madrid were reportedly interested in the France international but they weren't prepared to pay Juventus' asking price.
And Mourinho has admitted to bombarding Pogba with texts trying to convince him to make a return to Old Trafford.
“Oh! It was hard to convince him,” Mourinho told Goal. “I had many [conversations] on the phone, lots of SMS.
“I think he was getting one in the morning from the manager from another big club and one in the afternoon from myself. I had to try hard to convince him to choose us instead of the other one.”
Despite their loss over the weekend to rivals Manchester City, United have made a strong start to the season and Mourinho is feeling "positive" for the rest of the season.
“I have a very positive feeling,” he said. “Rome was not built in one day and a football team is probably more difficult to build than Rome was!
“The feeling is that they want to work for me, they have the same level of ambition and commitment that I have and step by step, by a tactical and mental point of view, I have great feelings with the answers they are giving. So yes, I am very positive.”
Mourinho also says he is "enjoying" life in the home dug-out at Old Trafford and is loving the atmosphere that the fans create.
“It feels like I am at home,” he said. “I didn’t feel strange or under pressure. I am enjoying the situation very, very much so I think we can both - me and the club - enjoy this professional relationship.
“For me I played so many times at Old Trafford as an opponent and - winning or not winning - I enjoy so much the atmosphere and the stadium.
“You can imagine that being at home with that amazing support behind the team is a moment to remember as one of the nicest ones in my career.”
