Paul Pogba banned from football for four years for doping
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been handed a four-year ban from football following a doping offence.
Pogba gained recognition for his outstanding performances for Juventus which helped secure him a return to Manchester United, where he had previously spent three years, including two as an academy product.
Pogba won four Scudetti and lifted the Coppa Italia twice in Turin.
The transfer was a then-world record £94million, which was then broken by Neymar, who joined Paris Saint-Germain for £198million from Barcelona in 2017.
In his first appearance at a major international tournament, Pogba was awarded FIFA’s Best Young Player at the 2014 World Cup before scoring in the final four years later to inspire France to a 4-2 victory over Luka Modric's Croatia.
Four years later he was part of the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and he scored in the final.
In 2009, Pogba confirmed his move to Manchester United’s academy from Le Havre, a decision lambasted by president Jean-Pierre Louvel, who alleged the switch was extrinsic-motivated with a house and $110,000 on the table.
Ironically, Le Havre were accused of doing something similar by Pogba's previous academy club Torcy. Man Utd were cleared of any wrongdoing by FIFA in 2010, with Le Havre reaching a confidential agreement with the Premier League outfit.
Following impressive performances in the Under-18s in 2009/10, Pogba was promoted to the first team and made his debut for the reserves in November 2010 against Bolton Wanderers. Pogba also continued to play for the Under-18s and contributed to the team's FA Youth Cup triumph that season against Sheffield United.
The following season went from bad to worse, with it becoming apparent that the relationship between Pogba and Mourinho had broken down. Having been named as club captain prior to the 2018/19 season, the French ace was stripped of the captaincy in September 2018 and would never lead the club again under the Portuguese, who branded Pogba as a 'virus' on the team. Mourinho was sacked in December 2018 after defeat to Liverpool.
Pogba admitted there was a 'question mark' over his future following victory in the opening game of the 2019/20 season against Frank Lampard's Chelsea.
Pogba - under pressure from fans to commit his future to the club - missed a penalty in the next game against Wolverhampton Wanderers and received racist abuse on social media for squandering the chance. Pogba returned to the set-up after recovering from surgery during lockdown and helped Man Utd finish the season in third position.
The France international tested positive for testosterone in a random drugs test following Juventus’ Serie A game against Udinese on August 20, when he was an unused substitute.
After the Italian anti-doping body issued a statement on Monday, September 11 confirming Pogba's suspension, Juventus said the club would now consider “the next procedural steps”.
If found guilty of doping, a suspension of between two and four years could be handed out to Pogba.
Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal confirmed Pogba positive sample for testosterone.
Earlier in the day, Pogba had claimed he was almost driven to walk away from football after allegedly being blackmailed by an organised crime gang.
The 30-year-old’s brother Mathias was detained in September 2022 on suspicion of involvement in the alleged plot, which Paul Pogba claimed amounted to a bid to extort £11.1million from him.
Mathias Pogba was released in December and denies the charges.
He started France's opening game, playing in central midfield as they comfortably defeated Honduras 3-0. Pogba then came off the bench in the following game and assisted Karim Benzema in a 5-2 victory over Switzerland.
Things would get better for Pogba, who delivered a match-winning performance in a 2-0 round of 16 victory over Nigeria. Pogba, who scored the opening goal, was awarded FIFA's Man of the Match. Eventual winners Germany eliminated France in the quarter-finals, but Pogba was named the Best Young Player of the tournament.
In October 2020, Pogba confirmed he would be 'taking legal action' over reports from the Middle East that he was retiring from the national team after comments made by president Emmanuel Macron about Islam. Macron referred to Islam as 'the source of international terrorism'. Pogba branded it as 'fake news'.
Pogba has two twin brothers: Florentin and Mathias, who are both professional soccer players.
Florentin is a defender for Indian side ATK Mohun Baga and the Guinea national team. Mathias, meanwhile, has had spells in France, England, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands although he has never spent more than two seasons at a club.
Pogba took a significant pay cut to rejoin Juventus. He is believed to be earning £160,000 per week in Turin, nearly half of the £300,000 he was reportedly earning at Old Trafford.
His net worth is believed to be around £105million.
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been handed a four-year ban from football following a doping offence.
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Former Monaco, Arsenal and France midfielder Emmanuel Petit has urged Paul Pogba to hang up his boots should he face a lengthy ban for doping.
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been provisionally suspended by Italy's national anti-doping tribunal after returning an adverse sample.
Paul Pogba says he was almost driven to walk away from football after allegedly being blackmailed by an organised crime gang.
Juventus will play their first home match of the Serie A season when they face Bologna in Turin on Sunday.