Pogba determined to play on, fight doping ban

Paul Pogba has said he is not finished as a professional footballer and rejected any suggestion he could retire despite a four-year ban for doping.

Pogba, 31, has not played since August 2023 and is awaiting a date for his hearing in front of the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) where he hopes to see his suspension reduced to a two-year ban. He was suspended earlier this year after testing positive for doping twice (the A sample and then the B sample).

“If you haven’t seen an interview of mine in which I say that I’m retiring, it means that it’s not like that, because I still feel like a footballer,” Pogba told Sky Italia in Düsseldorf on Monday where he was at France‘s 1-0 win against Belgium in the Euro 2024 round of 16.

“I want to fight this, for me, injustice. An interview has come out, I don’t know if you’ve seen it all, they put something that … I hadn’t finished talking. Pogba isn’t finished, Pogba is here and until you see me say that I’m finished, don’t worry. I have an incredible desire to come back, I feel like a child who wants to be professional. I train, I do everything I can to get back on the pitch.”

He added: “The latest news is I’m still a Juve player, I have the contract but I haven’t had the opportunity to speak to the director and coach … there’s silence. I think they’re waiting for the outcome of the appeal but you have to ask them.”

Pogba can’t play football professionally or train with Juventus but he has been working every day on his own in his Turin mansion with a fitness coach in a gym and with a personal football coach on the pitch.

The 2018 World Cup winner was invited to France’s game against Belgium by the French FA and head coach Didier Deschamps. He paid a visit to the France dressing room to celebrate the win with his former teammates.