Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba will be back playing active football in the next few months as his four-year drugs ban gets reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Paul Pogba who played a key role in France’s 2018 World Cup success tested positive for testosterone metabolites in August 2023 and was subsequently handed a lengthy ban.
However, Pogba will now be able to resume playing for Juventus from March 2025 onwards having initially been banned from all football related activities until August 2027.
Italy’s anti-doping agency had pushed for Pogba to receive the maximum four-year ban upon learning of his failed test, but the Frenchman immediately insisted that he’d done nothing wrong and would “never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations”.
CAS’ decision to reduce Pogba’s ban opens up the possibility that he could play for Juventus again before the conclusion of the 2024/25 season.
A return to action may also put to bed rumours of potential retirement from football – something Pogba was forced to deny in July as he continued to fight his case.
Pogba spent two spells with Manchester United earlier in his career, returning to the club in 2016 for a fee of £89m after leaving for Juventus on a free transfer four years prior.
However, he was unable to prove himself at Old Trafford before moving back to Juventus on a free transfer.
Injuries disrupted his progress at the Italian club before his failed drug test came to light in September 2023.
Earlier in his career,, Pogba was part of the side that won four successive Serie A titles for Juventus between 2012 and 2016, picking up the Golden Boy award in 2013 for his individual performances.
