Can Paul Pogba revive his career after doping ban?

The Herald Scotland

3 hours ago

It might be the norm these days, but at the time I couldn't recall any other deal provoking quite such depth of coverage online. A then world record fee, the 'will he, won't he?' tension, the player's willingness to play up to it on his own social channels, the emergence of dubious 'ITK' [in-the-know] Twitter accounts all claiming to reveal the inner workings.
It was everywhere. The first time a transfer of such magnitude played out almost entirely online. Pogba's agent at the time, the late Mino Raiola, casually tweeted updates - or rather, disdainfully shot down various rumours - from his personal account. Adidas, who sponsored both Pogba and Manchester United, constructed an entire digital marketing campaign around it, running cryptic posts and clips before the deal was confirmed. They even brought in rapper Stormzy for a music video that accompanied the announcement.
You could argue there's still never been anything else quite like it.
This week, it's been reported that Pogba, now 32, will sign for AS Monaco in Ligue 1 at the conclusion of a two-year doping ban that was reduced to 18 months on appeal. I daresay not everyone reading this column will have known that. The development has been little more than a sidebar on some of the biggest football news websites. Perhaps, though, low-key is what the Frenchman needs to get his career back on track.
From the moment he set foot back in Old Trafford in 2016, it felt as though there was always a story following Pogba around. Manchester United are one of the world's most scrutinised clubs, and they'd just shattered the world transfer record to sign a player they'd lost from their own academy four years earlier. Pogba was no shrinking violet, either, an extroverted character who some perceived to care as much about his off-field image as his exploits on it.
It was the perfect storm for incessant attention falling on a young man who was still only 23 when he became the most expensive footballer on the planet. The hype and expectation around him spiralled to levels he would never have been able to satisfy. He was billed as the silver bullet to United's neglected midfield; a player who was going to do it all, all the time.
And yet, anyone who had watched him in Serie A — YouTube compilations notwithstanding — would have pointed out that Pogba's rise was catalysed by a stylishly blended midfield unit that, at various points, included the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira. He was always a player who needed the right system. He was never a Superman figure, and yet the £90m that United paid for him dictated he would always be judged to that standard.
Pogba quickly became a magnet for criticism, an easy headline grabber. There were times were it all became a little bit uncomfortable, a little too personal on some fronts. Of course, I'm not saying criticism of his performances were unwarranted. There were deficiencies in his game, particularly defensively, but which of the world's great midfielders didn't have some kind of shortcoming? And which were scrutinised to the exhausting extent Pogba was? Ironically, peak Pogba was as close as any to being the full package. We just didn't see it often enough.
And so his career at a dysfunctional United seemed to drift. He became increasingly injury-prone, increasingly criticised by fans and pundits, an emblem of the Old Trafford decline. By the time he departed in the summer of 2022, it was widely agreed as being for the best, which seems an absurd thing to say about a player of his talent.
Pogba returned to Juventus shortly after his release, but fitness issues persisted, and he missed the 2022 World Cup after undergoing knee surgery. In September 2023, he tested positive for a prohibited substance, was banned for two years, and Juventus terminated his contract shortly after.
Now 32, he is set to return to top-flight football, and to the public eye. There's unlikely to be so much of a circus around him this time, but it's still a fascinating story. With the seemingly ever-increasing longevity in elite players, he's not necessarily back just for a final hurrah. The extended time away from the game may also have presented an opportunity to finally get to the bottom of his persistent injury troubles.
But what's most interesting, perhaps, is seeing what Pogba can become without the hype and the noise. He is, to be blunt about it, yesterday's man — but that need not be a bad thing. There are new superstars, new icons, younger men to be built up and torn down. The world is unlikely to be obsessed with Paul Pogba as it once so feverishly was.
Clearly, he has made mistakes for which he has paid a heavy price. In reducing his ban to 18 months, the Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted that Pogba's crime was one of carelessness, and that he did not knowingly accept a nutritional supplement from a doctor that elevated testosterone levels in his system.
With that saga behind him, it stands to reason there will be a burning desire within him to remind people just how talented he is. Monaco, after finishing third in Ligue 1, will play in next season's Champions League, a chance for Pogba to re-announce himself to the world on the biggest stage in European club football.
Perform in that arena, and it won't be long before there's debate over a recall to international duty. Pogba is already a World Cup winner with France; a return to Les Bleus isn't necessarily beyond him.
For now, though, there'll be palpable relief at simply being able to set foot on a football pitch once more. I don't want to stray too far from the fact that Pogba's downfall was, at the very least, partly of his own making, but he is certainly not beyond redemption.
He will surely wish to take control of the narrative throughout however many years he has left at the top level, as his career has featured so many contradictions. Supreme ability yet perceived as having unfulfilled potential. Derided as an underachiever despite being a world champion and quadruple Serie A winner.
Maybe all those things can be true at the same time, and maybe that's in some way fitting for such an enigmatic individual.