Is your career over?
Former world champion Pogba banned for four years for doping
February 29, 2024, 1:45 p.m
French national soccer player Paul Pogba is facing the end of his career after a positive doping test. The 30-year-old Juventus midfielder has been banned for four years by the responsible sports court.
Paul Pogba is in ruins – the former football world champion’s career could be over. The 30-year-old Frenchman was banned for four years for doping. His previous club Juventus Turin confirmed this to the AFP news agency.
The Italian anti-doping court followed the prosecutor’s request in terms of punishment. Pogba tested positive for testosterone and was provisionally suspended on September 11th. The B sample he requested was also positive. In an initial reaction, Juventus said it had “taken note” of the decision.
“The Frenchman’s adventure in bianconeri ends, perhaps even his career,” wrote the “Gazzetta dello Sport” shortly after the verdict was announced. The former 105 million euro man, the 2018 World Cup champion, has reached rock bottom.
For Pogba, who is a global player with 61 million followers on Instagram, the decline continues. At the World Cup in Russia he impressed as a dynamic and technically adept driver, and in the 4-2 final against Croatia he set the course with the goal to make it 3-1. Two years earlier he had moved from Turin to Manchester United for a then record fee of over 100 million – but he ultimately did not live up to his great hopes in England.
When he returned to Italy in 2022, Pogba wanted to start again with a contract until 2026. But injury problems bothered him and prevented him from taking part in the World Cup in Qatar. Pogba then picked himself up again before the doping news shocked his club. Those around him said that the positive test was probably due to a nutritional supplement that had been prescribed to him by a doctor in the USA. It has serious consequences for Pogba.