After failing a drugs test in August of last year, Paul Pogba, a former
midfield player for Manchester United, is reportedly facing a four-year
suspension from sport.
Following Juventus’s opening match of the season against Udinese, the
30-year-old tested positive for testosterone. On Thursday, the Italian
anti-doping prosecutor’s office handed down a heavy sentence, according
to La Repubblica.
Pogba’s lawyers had rejected a plea deal and hoped to get their client a
lighter sentence after claiming that he had accidentally ingested the substance
that caused the positive test.
However, the prosecution did not believe Pogba’s defence, and he has now been
given a ban that could potentially end his career.
Pogba will turn 31 next month, meaning he will not be able to return to the
pitch until he is almost 35.
The French superstar was once the most expensive footballer in the world.
He returned to Old Trafford in 2016 after coming through the club’s academy
before thriving at Juventus, with United paying the Italian giants £89m for
his services.
Pogba won the World Cup with France two years later, scoring in the final
against Croatia, but struggled to hit the same heights at United.
In 2022, he returned to Juventus on a free transfer with the goal of
revitalizing his career, having previously left the 13-time Premier League
champions.