Cliff Notes – Paul Pogba to join Monaco on two-year deal
- Paul Pogba has verbally agreed to a two-year contract with AS Monaco after rejecting a lucrative offer from a Saudi Pro League club.
- Following a four-year suspension for testing positive for a banned substance, Pogba’s ban was reduced to 18 months and concluded in March 2024.
- The midfielder contemplated retirement during his suspension but maintained faith in his innocence, leading to his eventual return to football.
Paul Pogba to join Monaco on two-year deal
Former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba will sign with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, a source told ESPN.
Pogba has verbally agreed to a two-year contract with the French club after turning down a major deal from a Saudi Pro League side, according to the source.
In February 2024, Pogba was handed a four-year suspension after he tested positive for DHEA, a banned substance.
In October, it was reduced to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport after an appeal. That ban came to an end in March.
Pogba later revealed to ESPN that he considered retiring after initially being handed a four-year ban.
“Yeah, I had many thoughts in my head, I had so many thoughts to even stop playing,” he said in October 2024.
“I’m like: ‘What am I going to do?’ If it’s four years, you start making the maths in your head. … Four years not playing, training — which club is going to want me? Would I be fit and stuff like that, you make a lot of pictures in your head.
“But on the other side, I had faith obviously, and I was positive. I knew I didn’t do anything wrong on purpose, so then thankfully that happened and they reduce it.”
Pogba’s last game was a 29-minute cameo for Juventus in September 2023. The last time he played a full 90 minutes was with Manchester United in March 2022.