Recently, we received the inevitable news that Paul Pogba, once considered one of the best talents in world football would receive a four year ban for taking performance enhancing drugs, notably testosterone in an attempt to, presumably, increase his performance. It’s worth noting that Pogba denies the allegations and released a statement saying:
“I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me.”
Early Controversies & Back and Forth(s)
From the very start of his career, Pogba was grabbing headlines.
In 2009, Pogba surprised his first professional club, Le Havre by announcing that he would be signing with Manchester United under their famous youth academy. This came as news to Le Harve who claimed that he was moving due to monetary reasons. The Red Devils refuted this, threatening to sue the French club, however, eventually the issue was resolved outside of the courts.
The Frenchman played regularly for United’s youth team and eventually broke into the first team. All of his performances came as a substitute. After his first senior season, it was announced that Pogba would go to Italian giants, Juventus after deciding against signing a new contract at Old Trafford.
Mental note – Manchester United receive £0 for this deal
His first season in Italy saw him make a huge 37 appearances across all competitions. Eight of these appearances came on the international stage in the Champions League, where Juventus made it to the quarter final stages, crashing out Bayern Munich. He did, however, taste gold as ‘The Old Lady’ won the Serie A title. Along with a successful first season in Italy, Pogba wore the French national shirt for the first time.
After three further successful seasons at Juventus, where he recorded a total of 178 appearances and 34 goals and picked up a Serie A title in each season of his tenure, as well as two Coppa Italia trophies and two Supercoppas.
During his time at Juventus, it was clear just how good Pogba could be. He would be nominated for multiple awards as well as becoming a French national team regular.
Pogba was sold for a world record fee (at the time) back to Manchester United.
A fee around £89.3 million was agreed between the clubs and Pogba had long season back in Manchester. Under charismatic manager, Jose Mourinho, the Frenchman made 51 appearances across all competitions and scored one of two goals in the Europa league final against Ajax.
His remaining five seasons at Old Trafford were certainly turbulent. He was constantly in and out of form, struggled to become a fan favourite and was regularly criticised for his apparent lack of effort during matches.
The Manchester United board allowed Pogba to run his contract down and a return to Turin was on the cards for the Frenchman, again for no fee.
Mental note - Manchester United made £0 from this move
Despite signing in July of 2022, injuries would prevent Pogba from making his second debut (and ruled him out of the 2022 World Cup) until February 2023. He would suffer another injury, forcing him to the sidelines for even longer. It wasn’t until May 14th 2023 that Pogba would make his first start for Juventus, lasting just 23 minutes due to another injury. The previously reliable midfield maestro managed just 10 appearances throughout the 2022/2023 season in Italy, starting a singular game.
His most turbulent season to date, however, is the 2023/2024 season. He was benched for the first three games of the season, only appearing in the second and third games of the season. He was then rested due to ‘muscle fatigue’, however, it’s widely suggested that he had failed a drug test.
September 11th 2023 saw Pogba suspended for testosterone metabolites. In October, the test was confirmed and in February, Pogba received a four-year suspension, essentially ending his career at the highest level.
Wasted Talent and Ruined Potential
Paul Pogba had all the attributes to become one of the world's best players. Standing 6’3 but being a slick trickster, he garnered comparisons to Brazil’s legendary, Ronaldinho. Granted, he was never going to be as quick and as electric as the former PSG, Barcelona and AC Milan legend, however, his range of passing is far better. That’s not to say that he lacked pace and for his size, he moves extremely well.
He’s skilful, knows where the goal is and is a rare breed. He’s an out-and-out central midfielder who can play either defensively or in the attacking realm. His tricks, flicks and finishing in front of goal make him a valuable asset to any team. With 94 assists and 72 goals from central midfield, there’s no denying that he has talent.
If Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest football manager to ever exist signs a talent at 16 years old, he’s got something. It’s worth noting that he performed far better in Italy than he did in England and also looked good at the international level. Perhaps it’s worth discussing whether Pogba suits a slower style of football, something that both Italian and international football are renowned for.
The accolades that Pogba has include four Series A titles, a World Cup (notching a goal in the 2018 final) and the 2013 Golden Boy Award amongst a whole host of Team of the Year nominations.
So, why is it that Pogba felt the need to cheat? The need to take testosterone? There’s a potential that he took the PED in order to enhance his recovery. We know that athletes often use steroids in order to speed up their recovery. In the world of mixed martial arts, Conor McGregor was granted an exemption following a leg break in order to speed his recovery up.
Perhaps he’s struggling to accept that he’s now past his best and that he can’t keep up with the younger, hungrier players around him. He’s the second-oldest midfielder at Juventus this season and is competing with 20 year old, Fabio Miretti for a place in the centre of midfield. Maybe he can’t accept that he’s no longer the guaranteed starter, which he was when he left Juventus in 2016 so felt the need to try and get that back by taking PEDs.
Whatever the reason, it’s a shame to see. Pogba is a talent, he has the personality to be a megastar, but factors outside of football have forced him to drop in those levels and throw away what could have been a legendary career.
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