Paul Pogba eager to make a comeback after doping ban

"Football is like a delicious strawberry cake that was snatched away from me," the 31-year-old lamented during an interview with L'Equipe television at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris.

“I try to stay fit. Of course I want to return, (because) it’s football, and it’s not over.”

Pogba, who is under contract with Italian giants Juventus until 2026, will be able to return to competitive football from March 11, 2025 – just four days before his 32nd birthday.

Capped 91 times for France, the midfielder tested positive for testosterone in August 2023 after a match between Juventus and Udinese in Italy.

He was provisionally suspended in September of the same year, and then banned for four years by the Italian National Anti-Doping Tribunal the following February.

Pogba’s representatives argued that the testosterone came from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor he consulted in the United States.

At the beginning of October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced this sanction to 18 months following a successful appeal.

“The nightmare is over,” said Pogba then, adding that he was “really looking forward to coming back”.

Asked about a possible arrival in Ligue 1 as Juventus are reportedly in negotiations to terminate his contract, Pogba, who has never played in the French league during his senior career, responded: “Why not?”

Former French defender Patrice Evra, who like Pogba has played for both Juventus and Manchester United, had urged Marseille to make a move for his compatriot.

Regarding that, Pogba said: “I laugh, because it is Uncle Pat, he said it as a joke. I am (currently) still under contract, so it is not credible.

“I already have a club, so I only thinking about returning and getting out of this situation. Of course, nobody knows what tomorrow holds, so never say never.”

A key figure when France won the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Pogba collected four Serie A titles in his first stint at Juventus but had a string of problems, on and off the pitch, after his 2022 return from United.

He was also the victim of an alleged organised extortion, for which six men, including his brother Mathias, were in September ordered to stand trial. AFP