If Paul Pogba receives the maximum penalty for a positive doping test, his career will be over. It is a career that has reached heights such as winning the World Cup with France in 2018, following a world-record £89m transfer to Manchester United two years earlier, but has yet to prove satisfying. in a bad second period at both Old Trafford and Juventus.
Last season in Turin – where he won four Serie A titles and reached the Champions League final in his first term – Pogba only had 10 appearances and one start due to a knee injury. The problem prevented him from participating in the 2022 World Cup.
Pogba tested positive for doping.
When Pogba started in Juve’s penultimate home match against Cremonese in May, he only played 23 minutes before suffering a thigh injury and having to leave the field in tears.
The French national has made two appearances from the bench this season, but when he was not used on August 20, he was part of a group of people who were subjected to random doping tests and then released the results. positive. Pogba is currently awaiting a B sample and he faces a two-year ban, which could be doubled, if it is proven that the No. 10 deliberately used doping. This is the latest in a series of dramatic events that have seen Pogba’s career decline alarmingly since he conquered the world with the French national team five years ago.
During his return to Man Utd, his relationship with Jose Mourinho and many Red Devils fans began to deteriorate. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a more sympathetic approach. Ole accepted the 1993-born midfielder’s vacation days abroad after too frequent recovery sessions in Miami and Dubai. But Pogba could not repay the coach’s trust on the field and angered the fans.
When Pogba left Man Utd on a free transfer for the second time last summer, Juventus was the best choice. His personal life at that time was in turmoil. Agent and close friend Mino Raiola passed away in April 2022 after a battle with cancer. Raiola’s lawyer, Rafaela Pimenta, took over and things were relatively okay because the Frenchman needed all the legal help he could get.
He is a problem at Man Utd.
The troubles that plague the 2018 World Cup champion also originate off the field. A year ago it was revealed that Pogba had been targeted by a criminal gang. Four days after his personal home in Hale, Cheshire was raided by threatening thieves, the former Man Utd star was confronted by two hooded gun-toting thugs after he was lured to a flat in suburbs of Paris.
They demanded 11 million pounds in protection money and threatened to blackmail him through a video, with the content that Pogba once paid a fee to a witch doctor to cast a spell on Kylian Mbappe. The Juventus midfielder admitted to paying the witch doctor but insisted it was to try to treat his injury. Mathias’s brother then went public, threatening to reveal scary information about Pogba and Mbappe, before being arrested and charged with being the mastermind of the incident.
Four other people believed to be Pogba’s childhood friends are also being investigated for blackmail. Pogba shared on Al Jazeera this week:
Pogba was once sold out by his relatives.
“Money changes people. It can break up a family, it can cause war. There were times when I thought: ‘I don’t want to have money anymore, I don’t want to play football anymore’.”
Pogba’s wish seems to be about to come true after the latest doping scandal. Juventus barely put up a fight to protect the player, raising suspicions they could tear up the number 10’s contract. This makes for a sad reunion, an experience Man Utd understands better anyone.
Lu Phong | 21:23 September 14, 2023
