Paul Pogba's career may end after a four-year ban for doping, with the 30-year-old Juventus midfielder feeling he never reached his potential.
The former Manchester United player, who won the World Cup with France, was extremely talented and at one point looked like an absolute world champion, but he never showed that on a sustained basis.
He has already said he intends to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.But if that fails, he will be 34 and without a club by the time he is eligible to play again in August 2027.
As a result, maintaining health and motivation for such a long period of time will be a major challenge for a player who hasn't played the equivalent of 22 full league games in a season since the 2018-19 season.
French soccer journalist Julien Laurence said: Euroleague show on BBC Radio 5 Live: “I remember meeting him when I was 15 and he was the best thing I've ever seen.
“He was such an amazing, generational talent, an absolute genius.
“He had a great career, won four Serie A titles and won the World Cup. A really great career. But he was so good that I thought there were no limits.”
“I thought he would rise to the top, win the Ballon d'Or, win more trophies and become the best player in the world.
“At the end of the day, we're always going to look back on his career and he's probably going to look back on what could have been, as well.”
What's up with Pogba now?
Pogba was provisionally suspended in September after a drug test after the opening game of the season revealed elevated testosterone levels.
On Thursday, Italy's National Anti-Doping Tribunal (Nado) upheld the athlete's four-year suspension, retroactive to August 20, 2023, when he failed the test.
Pogba said the ruling was “inaccurate” and said he had no intention of doping “knowingly and knowingly”. He confirmed he would appeal, adding: “The full story will become clear once legal restrictions are lifted.”
“The story that's being told is that I had a doctor friend in Miami who gave me a nutritional supplement and I took it without knowing what was in it and that's what caused all this,” Lawrence said. is.
“He could have easily said, 'I was naive, I didn't pay attention, I should have told the medical staff at Juventus,' and he probably would have gotten a reduced sentence.
“I think it's a little naive to expect it to last less than four years just because he said, 'I didn't know I was going through this treatment and hoping for the best.'”
Italian soccer expert Mina Luzuki said: “If the players can prove that the doping was unintentional or that the samples were contaminated, or if they cooperate significantly to help investigators. If so, his sentence may be reduced.”
“So it depends on whether he can prove that this was unintentional, but then the suspension could be reduced to two years, which could mean he can come back.”
“I think it will take four years,” Lawrence said. [end his career]. He will soon be 31 years old. He adds four years to that. For 18 months, he could hardly play due to injury. That means he hasn't played football for just four years, but for almost six years.
“I don't know if he wants to be ready to play again at 35. I think if this ban is upheld it will end like this. If it's two years, then when he's 33 someone will We could potentially give him his last contract.”
Juventus are thought to have reduced his salary to around £2,000 a month as part of a collective agreement between the club and the players' union.
Pogba's annual salary was £6.9m. Juve have the option to terminate his contract until June 2026, more than a year before his four-year ban ends.
Italian soccer writer James Horncastle said: “Juventus have not issued a statement. When last asked, the sporting director said he would wait for the final outcome of the process.”
“The appeal to CAS still remains. Until it is exhausted, no official statement can be made as to what action Juventus can take.”
Has Pogba's career lived up to expectations?
By most metrics, Pogba has had a very successful career.
He started his career at Manchester United before moving to Juventus, winning Serie A (including two doubles) in each of his first four seasons with the club.
He then returned to United for a world record £89 million in 2016 and won the Europa League and FA Cup in his first season at United.
Pogba, who won 91 caps for France, then helped Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018 by scoring in the 4-2 final win over Croatia in Russia.
In two seasons on either side of that World Cup, he contributed to 38 Premier League goals for United (six goals and 10 assists in 2017-18 and 13 goals and nine assists in 2018-19).
However, for a player considered to be a legend, he never came close to winning the Ballon d'Or. Those two trophies with United in 2017 were the last two of his club career.
His last three seasons at United were interrupted by injury and his form never improved, so his return to Juventus as a free agent 18 months ago was supposed to be a fresh start.
However, due to a series of injuries and a suspension just as he was finally feeling fit, he only played 213 minutes for the Italian club.
“It was supposed to be a reunion to tell a new story, the prodigal son returning to Juventus. Everyone thought this summer that this was the year and that he would do something special,” Luzuki said. Told.
“Both the club and the player wanted to write the story of an icon's triumphant return. Instead, we will be left wondering what happens to players who fail to reach their full potential. ”
Lawrence added: “He has to be one of the best players in the world. 2018 was the pinnacle of his career in Russia with France, but not at the level he should have been. I think he would agree with that.” he added.
“The only way I would use the word waste for him and his talent is because he could have had a much better career than this.”