Tag: Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba set for football return after 26 months out

Paul Pogba is expected to make his long-awaited return to action after over two years out of the game when Monaco travel to Rennes this Saturday in Ligue 1.

The 2018 World Cup winner has made only 12 appearances across the last three seasons due to injuries, a doping suspension and an extortion case in which he was the victim.

Pogba failed a drug test in August 2023 after a match for Juventus and was handed a four-year ban, which was subsequently reduced to 18 months.

Nonetheless, the Italian giants terminated his contract last November, bringing to an early end an unhappy second stint in Turin blighted by injuries and other problems.

In 2024, his brother Mathias was sentenced to three years in prison, with two years suspended, for his role in a plot to extort 13 million euros ($15.3 million) from Pogba in 2022.

But the chance to salvage his career came to the 32-year-old in the form of Ligue 1 side Monaco, who decided to take a gamble on him once he became available again following the conclusion of his suspension in March.

The extravagantly gifted midfielder signed for the principality side in the close-season, but was initially kept on the sidelines as he followed a custom-made plan to get his body back into the shape necessary for elite competition.

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Pogba’s return has twice been delayed due to knocks picked up this autumn, but after having won four Italian league titles with Juventus and the 2017 Europa League with Manchester United, Pogba is now set to play club football in his home country for the first time in his professional career.

Unlikely to start at Roazhon Park against Rennes as Ligue 1 starts back up after the international break, Pogba may only be sent on for the final moments of the match by Sebastien Pocognoli as sixth-placed Monaco continue to bed him in gently.

Regardless, all eyes will be on Pogba to see if his innate ability to spot and execute the pass that few else could even imagine, much less pull off, has not disappeared with time.

Pogba has stated he dreams of returning to the France set-up ahead of the 2026 World Cup, but only time will tell if his body can find it within itself to stand up to the demands of modern football over the rest of the season.

“It’s the wish of every French football player to represent the France national team, but there are stages,” Pogba said upon signing for Monaco.

“Today I’m at stage one: coming back and performing well.

“There are spots to be won and you have to earn them.”

Elsewhere in Ligue 1 action this weekend, leaders Paris Saint-Germain take on Le Havre, third-placed Lens welcome fourth-placed Strasbourg and bitter south coast rivals Nice and Marseille meet.

READ: Italy to face Northern Ireland in 2026 World Cup playoffs

Paul Pogba set for Monaco move after doping ban: sources

Former France midfielder Paul Pogba, who wants to resume his career after a doping ban, said on French television on Sunday he is “talking” with a club, which sources close to him said was Monaco.

The 32-year-old also said he had re-established contact with his brother Mathias, sentenced to a year in prison last December for his involvement in a plot to extort 13 million euros ($15 million) from the 2018 World Cup winner.

Pogba, who played for Manchester United and Juventus, is hoping to put three chaotic years behind him.

Pogba suffered through repeated injuries and patchy form that led to his departure from United in 2022. He returned for a second stint at Juventus, where his problems continued.

He failed a drugs test after a game in Italy in August 2023 and was handed a four-year doping ban, which was reduced 18 months on appeal. It ended in March.

“It was very, very hard,” he said.

He said he was “talking” to a club, which multiple sources said was Ligue 1 Monaco.

Pogba said he was determined “to get back on the pitch, mentally ready, physically ready, it’s just a matter of time”.

The extortion case involving six men linked to Paul Pogba shocked France because the perpetrators included three childhood friends and his own brother.

The five other defendants were found guilty of extortion, kidnapping and detention, as well as participation in a criminal association, and sentenced to up to eight years in prison. All six were also fined.

Paul Pogba said he was talking to Mathias who is being allowed to serve his sentence wearing an electronic bracelet rather than behind bars.

“We are in contact. We’ve spoken, among ourselves, with the family,” Paul Pogba said. “It’s a blood bond. There was a scar, of course. We’re moving forward. Only time can give us answers.”

“All we want is to always be united as a family. That’s the most important thing. It’s hard. Of course it’s very hard, I’m not going to lie. I was hurt. It’s not the same as before, but we’re in touch,” he added.

Paul Pogba was held at gunpoint in 2022 by two hooded men who demanded money.

He said on Sunday that he was initially willing to pay but “afterwards, I cracked,” he said, deciding “to speak out, even if it meant dying” and refusing “to throw away my money like that”.

He said the ban and the court case had changed him

“I learned a lot during this period,” Pogba said. “I did a lot of cleaning around myself too. I am also much closer to my family, my children.”

READ: Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham to undergo shoulder surgery after Club World Cup

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