Paul Pogba agrees two-year Monaco deal to restart career after doping ban
Paul Pogba is poised to return to football with Monaco after the conclusion of a doping ban. The France international has a agreed a two-year deal with the Ligue 1 club and will undergo a medical this week.
The 32-year-old last played a competitive game for Juventus in September 2023 before receiving a four-year suspension after testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Pogba appealed against the length of his ban, which was reduced to 18 months, and has been free to play since March.
Pogba, who has 91 caps, attracted interest from clubs across the world after agreeing to terminate his Juventus contract last November. Sides from MLS and Saudi Arabia made overtures but the midfielder decided it would be best to restart his career in Monaco, who hope the deal will be concluded this week.
Despite coming through the academy at Le Havre, Pogba has never played domestic football in France. He has had two spells at Manchester United, becoming the world's then most expensive player when he returned to the club in 2016 for £89.3m.
Sign up to Football Daily
Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football
after newsletter promotion
Pogba's second spell at Old Trafford was a disappointment and he returned to Juventus in 2022 on a free transfer but struggled with injuries and form in Serie A before his ban.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
28 minutes ago
- Times
Keith Andrews: Can the new Brentford head coach win over doubters?
The backlash had already started before Keith Andrews' appointment as Brentford's new head coach was even announced and predictably enough it was led by Martin O'Neill, clearly still smarting at being criticised by Andrews all the way back in 2017. O'Neill is a bearer of grudges, by his own admission. As a European Cup winner, he doesn't like being criticised by those who haven't ascended to those lofty heights, if they are Andrews or even Fabio Cannavaro, who captained Italy to the World Cup but never won the world's premier club trophy, as O'Neill once famously reminded him. O'Neill's criticism of Andrews as a 'lower league player' hardly fit to lace his boots was clearly something the Dubliner was keen to turn on its head when he gave his first interview as Brentford's new head coach on Friday, as well as addressing the more widely held view that he doesn't have the necessary coaching experience to step into such a big role.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Chelsea boss lashes out at Club World Cup organisers after yet another weather delay
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, June 28 (Reuters) - Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca lashed out after a two-hour weather delay disrupted his team's last-16 Club World Cup victory over Benfica on Saturday, suggesting the United States was not a suitable country for the competition - a year before it is due to host the men's World Cup. Chelsea beat Benfica 4-1 in extra-time to qualify for the quarter-finals after a game that ended four hours and 39 minutes after kicking off, following a two-hour interruption due to a storm warning. It was the sixth time that a game was stopped at the 32-club tournament because of the risk of lightning. "For me personally, it's not football," Maresca told a press conference. "I think it's a joke. It's not football. "I can understand that for security reasons, you have to suspend the game. But if you suspend seven or eight games, that means that probably this is not the right place to do this competition. "It's a fantastic competition. It's the Club World Cup, all the best clubs are here," he added. "But six, seven games suspended? It's not normal. In a World Cup how many have they suspended? Probably zero. In a European (championship), how many games? Zero. There is some problem." FIFA, which organised the tournament, was not immediately available for comment. Chelsea were 1-0 up when the players were asked to leave the pitch and play only resumed almost two hours later. "The game was very good for 85 minutes, then we stopped for two hours, and when we started it was a completely different game. It's not the same game because you break the tempo," Maresca said.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Enzo Maresca ‘very proud' as Chelsea book last-eight berth
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was proud of his team after beating Benfica in extraordinary, weather-hit circumstances to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals. The Blues eventually ran out 4-1 winners after extra-time in a last-16 tie in Charlotte which was suspended for almost two hours due to a thunderstorm. Chelsea had been just four minutes away from victory following Reece James's stunning free-kick when the players were taken off the field at the Bank of America Stadium. Benfica benefited from the break and forced extra-time with a controversial Angel Di Maria penalty after play finally resumed. The game swung back in Chelsea's favour after the Portuguese giants had Gianluca Prestianni sent off and Christopher Nkunku gave them a decisive lead. Breakaway goals from Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall wrapped up the win. Maresca told DAZN: 'I'm very proud. The performance for me was top until the last five minutes when they stopped the game, and when we restarted (it was) a completely a different game. 'When you are inside for more than one hour it's not easy but, 1-1, we continued to play and, at the end, I think the reward was one that we deserve.' The players were pictured riding exercise bikes and kicking balls in the dressing room during the enforced break. Maresca said: 'Especially when it's 85 minutes, five minutes to go, it's very difficult. 'But we tried to keep them in the best way we could in that moment and, at the end, we are in the last eight teams here in this competition and we are very happy.' Chelsea will return to Philadelphia, where they played two group games, to face Brazilian side Palmeiras in the quarter-finals on Friday. 'Now we need to recover players, recover the energy and go again,' said Maresca. Moises Caicedo delivered an influential performance but will miss the next game after being booked for a second time in the tournament. Caicedo said of the team's prospects: 'We believe. We know this a tough tournament but, the thing is, we're working hard and doing well. At the end, we're going to see why we (are still) here.' Reflecting on the weather delay, the Ecuadorian said: 'We were talking in the dressing room. The thing was (to stay) focused the whole game. I'm so happy because we did it.'
