Paul Pogba’s four-year ban: highlights from his career

Paul Pogba has just been handed a four-year ban after he failed a drug test in August, and the sentence sent shockwaves around European football.

In the last few seasons, Pogba has struggled to replicate the form he showed earlier in his career, and the last campaign was the worst.

The 2018 World Cup winner could hardly play for Juventus and did not finish a single game, often getting injured before the half-hour mark when he even started a game for the Old Lady.

The last best version of Pogba seems to be the one that won the World Cup with France, and you can argue that after that success, his drive for more was reduced.

The midfielder had emerged as a prodigy at United, with the Red Devils pushing for him to sign a professional deal, but he left as United would not offer guarantees of playing time.

Leaving Manchester United

Manchester United tickets buyers were treated to a few minutes of Pogba’s brilliance when he was coming through at the club, and they were hoping to see more of him in the 2012/2013 season.

This is because he had been given several chances in the previous campaign and was a proper rising star at Old Trafford.

However, United would not offer guarantees of game time as he was still a teenager, and his agent at the time, Mino Raiola, wanted that.

Both parties eventually could not see eye to eye, and Raiola struck a deal with Juventus to take Pogba to the Italian club for a small fee in 2012.

United knew they had lost a top player in the making, but Pogba was ready for the big time, and their loss would become Juventus’ gain.

Starring for Juventus

Juve had been struggling to become Italian champions again when they took a chance on a teenage Pogba from United.

Raiola convinced them that the boy would be a megastar, and they bought into it under Antonio Conte, who had been tasked with making the team great again.

Pogba was an instant star and went straight to the first team when he joined the club despite meeting several established players there.

In his first season in Turin, the Frenchman made 27 league appearances, scoring five goals and became known as a phenomenon as Juventus won the league.

Pogba won four consecutive league titles, among other trophies, from 2013 to 2016 before he left Juve for a return to United as the most expensive player in the world.

Return to United

United wanted to flex their financial muscle and brought Paul Pogba back to the club four years after letting him go.

The Red Devils paid £89.3 million, a new world record at the time, to add him to their group again as they desperately searched for success from the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Pogba’s first season at the club was good as United won the Europa League in 2017 under Jose Mourinho.

They also made a good impression in the Premier League as they recovered from several years of doing badly in every competition.

Pogba was the darling of several United fans, and some saw him as a hero who would bring trophies back to Old Trafford because of how well things went in his first season back.

But not long afterwards, his relationship with Jose Mourinho began to deteriorate, as the Portuguese manager questioned his commitment to the team.

Falling out with Jose Mourinho

In the winter of 2018, Pogba’s agent, Raiola, reportedly offered the French midfielder’s service to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

The Spanish gaffer made this revelation in his pre-match presser and it set the tone for one of the best Pogba’s performances in a United shirt.

Days later when United and City met, the Frenchman scored twice to help his side come from behind to beat their neighbours 3-2.

But the relationship between him and Jose Mourinho was not getting better as Pogba was now often injured, and that led to his manager questioning his desire to do all he could for the club.

Winning the World Cup

However, the World Cup came in the summer of 2018, and it was time for Pogba to spend some weeks away from club troubles as France looked to win the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.

Didier Deschamps has relied on Pogba for a long time and was confident the midfielder could lead them to success.

Pogba was a huge influence in the dressing room and on the pitch as France went through some tough games to win the World Cup.

He even scored in the final as Les Bleus returned home as champions again, which made him a bigger hero to his fans.

However, at the club level things were not getting better for him, and Mourinho was sacked before the end of 2018.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was brought in as a replacement for the Portuguese manager and tried to get the best out of Pogba.

But at this point, injuries have become a constant for the Frenchman, who played very few minutes before being sidelined every time.

He would then refuse a contract renewal offer from the Red Devils and seal a return to Juventus in 2022.

Returning to Juventus

Juve pounced to sign Pogba from United as a free agent when they learnt he turned down United’s contract offer, and he agreed to return to the club where he has had the most joy as a footballer.

Because he did not play for United for several months before his return to Turin, Pogba was in good shape to start pre-season preparations for the Old Lady.

However, he suffered a serious injury during that pre-season, and he was given the option of undergoing surgery or taking therapy.

Because the Frenchman desperately wanted to play for France at the World Cup in Qatar, he decided against surgery, which the club had wanted, and that proved to be yet another big mistake from the Frenchman.

Pogba would not recover for the World Cup and eventually had to undergo surgery when therapy failed to help him recover from the problem.

This forced him to miss so many games for Juventus, and he ended the 2022/2023 season with just 10 appearances in all competitions.

Family problems

As Juve waited for Pogba to become injury-free, his brother Mathias Pogba made a bombshell allegation that he had visited witch doctors and wanted to take the spotlight from Kylian Mbappe, among other claims.

However, Pogba hit back by revealing that Mathias was part of a group of friends who were trying to extort him and had held him at gunpoint several times.

This was not what Pogba or Juve wanted, but it was typical of Pogba to have these off-field problems, and his club focused on waiting for his return to full fitness.

Shocking failed drug test

The 2023/2024 season was supposed to be a good year for Pogba, with Juve hopeful he will be fully fit and help them to win the league again.

But the Frenchman failed a drug test in the first game of the season, a match he did not even play.

He was informed of this verdict in September 2023 and was suspended by the club while earning a minimum wage as he awaited a ban.

Pogba defended himself to the body in charge of making the decision, yet the midfielder was handed the maximum four-year ban.

This came as a shock to everyone as Pogba has worked too hard for his career to end this way. The midfielder has vowed to fight back at the CAS. 

Will Pogba play football again?

Pogba is not perfect, but there will hardly be anyone who is not surprised that he failed a drug test, and no one is celebrating that he is banned for four years.

This goes to show that he is a good man, and most of us would love to see him back in the game and end his career on a better note.

Hopefully, his ban duration will be reduced at the CAS, and he will be back on the pitch as soon as possible.