Paul Pogba will be a stronger, better player as a result of his current struggles at Manchester United, William Gallas has told SFR Sport.
France international Pogba started Wednesday's Champions League game at Sevilla on the bench, coming on in the first half after an injury to Ander Herrera.
It was the second time in three games that the midfielder has not been named in Jose Mourinho's starting XI.
Gallas, who won back-to-back Premier League titles under Mourinho at Chelsea before leaving for Arsenal in 2006, got used to the strategies used by Mourinho to fire up his players and said he was employing them to try and get the best from Pogba.
José Mourinho a-t-il raison de malmener Paul Pogba à #ManUnited ? "S'il te pique, c'est qu'il t'apprécie" éclaire @wgallas13, ancien soldat du "Special One" à #Chelsea ⚽👊🔥 #LeVestiaire pic.twitter.com/ZUl6tUtCNZ
— SFR Sport (@SFR_Sport) February 21, 2018
"Whether it was me or whether it was someone else, he has always had a go at his players," he said.
"If he does that it's because he likes you and thinks you have quality. He wants you to be 100 percent, which is why he has had a go at Paul because he knows Paul can do a lot better.
"The fact he has had a go is going to make him react. You saw that after he came off the bench -- he didn't lose a single ball.
"Paul is now focused on his football more than anything else. I think it'll do him a lot of good, and I think we'll see a stronger Paul Pogba, the Paul Pogba that we saw at Juventus."