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Juventus and France midfielder Paul Pogba has faced a provisional suspension due to elevated levels of testosterone detected during a doping control, as reported by Italian anti-doping authorities (Nado) to AFP on Monday.
Paul Pogba, who had endured a challenging season marked by injuries and a blackmail scandal, had harbored hopes of making a comeback. However, those hopes were dashed following allegations of doping after Juventus’s 3-0 victory over Udinese on August 20, a match in which he remained an unused substitute.
On Monday, the 2018 World Cup champion shared with Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera his strong “desire to play” again after a “difficult year” that had the potential to “ruin” him.
Instead he received a new blow.
Nado said Pogba had violated anti-doping rules when they found the prohibited substance “non-endogenous testosterone metabolites”.
Juventus said in a statement that Pogba had “received a precautionary suspension”.
“The club reserves the right to consider the next procedural steps,” the statement added.
The test concerns the ‘A’ sample, and if the ‘B’ sample also tests positive for testosterone Pogba could face a four-year ban.
In a message sent to AFP, Pogba’s agent Rafaela Pimenta said she was “awaiting the second sample and cannot have an opinion before the results”.
“What is certain is that Paul Pogba never wanted to break a rule,” she added.
– ‘Difficult year’ –
Pogba rejoined Juventus in July 2022 from Manchester United.
During the period from 2012 to 2016, Paul Pogba played a pivotal role in Juventus’ success, contributing to the team’s achievement of four Serie A titles and two Italian Cups. Additionally, Juventus reached the prestigious Champions League final in 2015 during that time.
Despite being a star player in France’s victorious 2018 World Cup campaign, Pogba’s season in 2022-2023 was marred by injuries and a complex blackmail scheme involving childhood friends and one of his siblings, costing him a significant part of his playing time. He managed to participate in only ten games for Juventus in that season and was unable to represent France in the 2022 World Cup.
In the following season, he made a return to the field by playing six Serie A games. He had been scheduled to make his comeback against Lazio over the weekend and expressed his eagerness to resume playing in his interview with Al Jazeera.
“I’ve had a difficult year so I’ve this anger and this wish to play football,” Pogba told Al Jazeera.
“The only people that can hurt you are the people close to you. Enemies you know where they are, but friends, family, that you think they’re happy for you, they can destroy you,” he said.
“You have to be careful, money change people, can break up a family,” he said of the multimillion euros extortion efforts by former friends and his own brother Mattias.
Pogba said that at times he had been deeply demotivated by the matter.
“I was just by myself thinking I don’t want to have money anymore, I don’t want to play anymore, I just want to be with normal people, so they will love me for me, not for the fame, not for the money,” he said.
After this latest setback Pogba now faces an anxious wait for the result of his ‘B’ test.
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