Former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has joined AS Monaco on a two-year contract, marking his return to competitive football following an 18-month doping suspension.
The 32-year-old France international, a World Cup winner in 2018, has been a free agent since agreeing to a mutual termination of his contract with Juventus in November 2024. The move to the Ligue 1 club will be the first time he has played professionally in his home country.
Pogba was provisionally suspended in 2023 after a random drug test following Juventus’ opening match of the 2023-24 season. He subsequently received a four-year ban, which was later reduced to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in October 2024. The court confirmed that Pogba had inadvertently taken the banned substance dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).
His suspension officially ended in March, allowing him to resume his career.
Pogba’s decorated career includes two spells at Manchester United and two at Juventus. He first came to prominence at Juventus, winning four consecutive Serie A titles. This success prompted Manchester United to re-sign him in 2016 for a then-world record fee of £89 million. During his second stint at Old Trafford, he won both the Europa League and the FA Cup in his first season.
The pinnacle of his career came in 2018 when he scored in the World Cup final as France defeated Croatia 4-2 in Russia. However, his final years at Manchester United and his subsequent return to Juventus were hampered by injuries and inconsistent form, preceding his doping violation.
The move to Monaco offers the 91-cap French international a chance to revitalise his career at the top level of European football.
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