What’s Next for Paul Pogba Following Suspension

Highlights

• Paul Pogba has been handed a four-year ban from football after testing positive for a banned substance.
• He intends to appeal the suspension.
• If the appeal is unsuccessful, he won’t be able to play again until he’s 34 years old.

The football world was rocked this week when it was revealed that Paul Pogba had been handed a four-year suspension from the game due to a doping offence. The Juventus midfielder tested positive for DHEA, a banned substance that is supposed to boost an athlete’s testosterone in August 2023 and the situation was announced a month later. He has been suspended ever since while an investigation was being conducted. It was finally concluded this week, and the Frenchman was handed a hefty ban.

What happens next is quite intriguing. The former Manchester United man isn’t getting any younger, and with such a lengthy ban, he’s set to miss the rest of his prime years on the pitch. So, what does the future hold for Pogba? What’s his next move? Well, there are several options on the cards, and Sky Sports have revealed what they are. With a lot of speculation surrounding the Frenchman’s future right now, let’s take a look at what the next possible steps might be for Pogba.

Pogba could appeal the ban

He could fight it in the Court of Arbitration of Sport

Rather than accept defeat, Pogba has maintained his innocence and has stressed more than once that he wasn’t aware he was taking a banned substance when he did. He’s also revealed that he intends to appeal against the ban and take the case to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (COS).

“As a professional athlete, I would never do anything to enhance my performance by using banned substances and have never disrespected or cheated fellow athletes and supporters of any of the teams I have played for, or against.

“As a consequence of the decision announced today, I will appeal this before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.”

The COS will then go through the entire case thoroughly. The Court of Arbitration of Sport exists for athletes or organisations to appeal against any punishments handed to them. It’s comprised of a panel of judges located in Switzerland and the COS will work to identify whether Pogba has any merit and whether the sanction handed down to him was compliant with the rules of the WADA. This is just one possible avenue that the Frenchman can navigate, and the World Cup winner will have to come up with compelling evidence that he didn’t knowingly take a banned substance, but if he’s unsuccessful in his appeal, he’ll be forced to look at other options.

Pogba’s career is essentially over if the appeal fails

He’ll be suspended until he’s 34 years old

If Pogba’s appeal is unsuccessful and the COS decide to uphold his initial punishment, he’ll be banned from football for four years. In the grand scheme of things, four years might not seem all that long, but in sports, it’s practically a lifetime. At 30 years old, the Frenchman would be unable to compete until he’s 34.

To put that into perspective, midfielders historically enter their prime at around 25 years of age and leave it shortly after they turn 30, according to The Athletic. So, the Frenchman is close to leaving his prime years already, but now he won’t even be able to experience his twilight days. Instead, after four years of inactivity, he’ll have the option to return at 34 years old, and there’s no telling just how much damage such a long absence will bring about at that age.

Realistically, this could be the end of his time as a top-level midfielder and, while there’s no guarantee or even a hint that he intends to retire if he’s unsuccessful in his appeal, it stands to reason that it is one of his most realistic options at the moment.

His return to Juventus has been a disaster

Injuries and suspensions have impacted his homecoming

After several underwhelming years at Manchester United, Pogba returned to Juventus in 2022, and it was looked at as an opportunity for him to regain what had made him such a special footballer. He initially spent four years with the Serie A club between 2012-2016 and transformed into a global superstar during that time.

The Red Devils paid huge amounts of money for him in 2016, making him one of the most expensive signings of all time in the process, but things never quite worked out at Old Trafford. As a result, he returned to Juventus after six years away, but his second stint in Italy hasn’t reaped the same rewards that his first run did. Instead, he’s been dealing with several niggling injuries and missed the majority of his first campaign back in Serie A.

In fact, he played just 10 times in all competitions, having spent the majority of the campaign on the sidelines, and this year, which was supposed to be different, has been even worse. After featuring twice early in the season, the Frenchman tested positive for DHEA in August and was suspended indefinitely in September 2023. He maintained his fitness levels through training away from the team while the investigation was conducted, preparing to return to football at immediate notice, but the results of the investigation and the four-year ban have put those plans to a firm end for now.

When he rejoined Juventus, Pogba was offered a massive salary and was earning £6.8m-a-season in Italy, but according to reports, he’s taken a huge pay cut during his suspension and has been earning just £1,700-a-month since September. He also stands to possibly lose out on several major sponsorship deals that he’s signed with Adidas and Wahed Investing. He signed a 10-year deal with Adidas in 2016, worth a reported amount of £31m, but the company may cut ties with him if he’s unable to actually play football. They won’t want to pay such a high fee for someone who’s forced to watch from the sidelines for the next four years.