2024-03-01 12:36:44
Photo credit, Getty Images
Article information
- Author, By Emlyn Begley
- Role, BBC Sport
-
30 minutes ago
Paul Pogba’s career might be over following his four-year ban for doping with a feeling the 30-year-old Juventus midfielder never fulfilled his potential.
The former Manchester United player, who won the World Cup with France, was extremely talented and, in fits and starts, showed the brilliance of a world-class player, but he never really showed it on a regular basis.
Pogba has already announced he will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but if that fails, by the time he can play once more – in August 2027 – he would then be 34 and without a club.
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So it will be a big challenge for a player who has failed to play the equivalent of 22 full league games in a season since 2018-19 to stay fit and motivated for such a long period.
French sports journalist Julien Laurens said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Euro Leagues: “I remember seeing him when I was 15 and he was the best thing I’d ever seen.
“He was so good, a generational talent, an absolute genius.
“He had a good career, he won four Serie A titles and the World Cup. It’s a very good career. But he was so good that I thought there was no limit.
“I thought he would reach the top, that he would win Ballons d’Or, that he would win more trophies and that he would be the best player in the world.
“At the end of the day, we will always look back on him and his career probably in the same way thinking regarding what it should have been.”
Photo credit, Getty Images
Image caption,
The French midfielder says he is “sad, shocked and heartbroken” following being suspended for four years for doping (photo October 23, 2018 Champions League group match between Manchester United and Juventus in Manchester)
Pogba was provisionally suspended in September following a drugs test taken following the season’s opening match revealed high levels of testosterone in his body.
On Thursday, Italy’s national anti-doping court upheld the four-year ban, which dates back to August 20, 2023, when he failed the test.
Pogba said the verdict was “incorrect” and that he would “never knowingly or deliberately” dope. He confirmed he would appeal and added “when I am free from legal restrictions, the whole story will become clear.”
Laurens said: “The story being told is that he has a doctor friend in Miami who gave him some dietary supplements that he took without knowing what was in them and that’s what caused all of this.
“He might easily have said ‘I was naive, I wasn’t careful and I should have spoken to the Juventus medical staff’ and maybe the sentence would have been reduced.
“For him to expect less than four years because he said ‘I didn’t know I was taking it and hoping for the best’, I find that a bit naive.”
Italian football expert Mina Rzouki said: “His sentence can be reduced if an athlete can prove that his doping was unintentional or that his samples were contaminated – or if the player provides substantial assistance to help investigators .
“So it’s a question of whether he can prove it wasn’t intentional and then it’s possible the ban might be reduced to two years, which might mean he might make a comeback.”
Laurens said: “I think four years [mettent fin à sa carrière]. He is almost 31 years old. You add four years to that. For 18 months he barely played due to injury. So it’s not just four years without football, it’s almost six years. .
“I’m not sure he would want at 35 to be ready to go once more. I think that’s how it will end if this ban continues. If it’s two years, there’s a chance at 33 someone give him one last contract.”
Juventus have reportedly cut his salary to around £2,000 a month – as part of a collective bargaining agreement between the clubs and players’ union.
Pogba earned £6.9m a year. Juve have the option to cancel his contract, which runs until June 2026, more than a year before the four-year ban ends.
Italian football writer James Horncastle said: “Juventus have not released a statement. Their sporting director, when last asked, said they would wait for the final outcome of the process.
“There is still an appeal to go to CAS. Until it is exhausted, we will not have an official statement from Juventus on what measures they can take.”
Has Pogba’s career lived up to expectations?
Photo credit, Getty Images
Image caption,
The French international, 30, was provisionally suspended in September following a doping test revealed high levels of testosterone in his body.
By most measures, Pogba has had an extremely successful career.
He began his career at Manchester United before joining Juventus, where he won Serie A in each of his first four seasons at the club, including two doubles.
He then returned to United for a record fee of £89 million in 2016. In his first season at United, he won the Europa League and the FA Cup.
Pogba, who won 91 caps for France, went on to help Les Bleus win the 2018 World Cup, scoring a goal in the final as they beat Croatia 4-2 in Russia.
In the two seasons either side of this World Cup, he has contributed to 38 Premier League goals for United (six goals and 10 assists in 2017-18 and 13 goals and nine assists in 2018-19).
But for a player who was supposed to be a legend, he never came close to a Ballon d’Or – and those two trophies in 2017 with United would prove to be the last two of his club career.
Injuries interrupted his last three seasons at United, with lack of form not helping either, and his return as a free agent to Juventus 18 months ago was supposed to be a fresh start.
But further injuries, then this ban when he was finally fit, meant that he only played 213 minutes for the Italian club.
“It was supposed to be a reunion telling a new story, a prodigal son returning to Juventus. This summer everyone thought this would be the year and he would do something special,” Rzouki said.
“Both the club and the player wanted to write the story of the icon’s triumphant return. Instead, we will wonder what will happen to a player who never truly lived up to his true potential.”
Laurens added: “He has become one of the best players in the world. 2018 was the peak of his career with France at the World Cup in Russia, but he hasn’t been as high as he would have been. should have been. He will be okay with that.
“The only way I can use the word waste on him and his talent is because he should have had a much better career than he had.”
Juventus told the BBC they received a notification from the anti-doping court on Thursday morning.
A player who won four Scudetti and helped Juventus reach the Champions League final in 2015, Pogba remains a beloved figure in Turin and news of his ban – which he will appeal – has caused deep sadness.
Paul Pogba initially earned an annual salary of €8 million at Juventus, plus €2 million in bonuses, but when he was provisionally suspended in September 2023, this salary was reduced to around €2,400 per month , as provided for in the collective agreement between the clubs and the footballers’ association.
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