Juventus Midfielder Paul Pogba Handed Four-year Ban for Doping

New Delhi: 2018 FIFA World Cup winner, Paul Pogba, has been handed a four-year ban on Thursday after the French star footballer failed a drugs test last August, possibly drawing curtains to his playing career. The former Manchester United star tested positive for testosterone while playing for Italian Serie A side Juventus’ opening game of the season against Udinese. According to La Repubblica, the 30-year-old was handed a hefty punishment by an anti-doping prosecutor’s office in Italy.

However, Pogba’s lawyers in defence stated that their client accidentally ingested the banned substance in an attempt to lighten the sentence. But the prosecution didn’t believe. The Frenchman will turn 31 next month and by the time the ban ends, he will be almost 35.

For the unknown, Pogba, who came up through Manchester United academy during his initial days, returned to his boyhood club in 2016 as the then-most expensive player with the owners playing Juventus 89m euros for his services. He had also scored in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final against Croatia in Russia. Pogba returned to Juventus for the second time in 2022 from Old Trafford on a free transfer with an aim to resurrect his career.