Jose Mourinho has banned his Manchester United players from playing Pokémon Go in the build up to matches in an attempt to keep them concentrated on football.
The Nintendo game has taken the world by storm in the past few weeks, with 15 million people having downloaded it just in America, according to USA Today.
The mobile phone game encourages people to look for Pokémon out in public, but United players have been told by Mourinho to limit their game time, with use banned in the two days before a matchday.
A source told The Daily Star: “Jose loves having a great relationship with his players and staff, and thinks it’s great for them to chill and relax away from training and games.
“He’s still finding his way around Old Trafford and treading carefully. The only thing he has picked up on which he’s told the lads of is his concern about Pokémon.
“He says for 48 hours before a match he wants the guys to leave it alone and concentrate on the tactics he and his staff have been working on in the days before.”
United are currently in China on a pre-season tour where they lost 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai before seeing their scheduled derby with Manchester City in Beijing cancelled due to poor weather.
Like millions of people worldwide, many Red Devils players are said to be engrossed with Pokémon but they’ll now have to catch them all in their free time and certainly not on the way to matches.
Mourinho is bidding to turn things around at United, who have struggled in the past three seasons since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, finishing seventh, fourth and fifth in the Premier League under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.
The Portuguese manager clearly wants his players focused on football and reportedly spoke to each of the first team squad to ensure their commitment are to tactics, rather than their next catch.
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