Paul Pogba at risk of being banned from playing for 4 years

Pogba failed a doping test after Juventus beat Udinese 3-0 in Serie A on August 20. In this match, he was randomly tested despite being a substitute and was not allowed to enter the field.

The first sample tested positive for excess testosterone, a hormone that helps athletes endure high-intensity exercise. In October, the second sample tested positive again.

As Pogba has pleaded not guilty, the case will be heard in an Italian anti-doping court.

If he is sentenced to four years, as prosecutors are asking today, Pogba's career is over. He is now 30 years old, has lost his form and has been injured frequently in recent years.

Born in 1993, Pogba is considered a generational talent. At the age of 16, he joined the Man Utd academy from Le Havre and began to make a splash when he played in both legs of the 2011 final against Sheffield United, helping Man Utd win the Youth Cup for the tenth time - a tournament organized by the Football Association (FA) for players under the age of 18. The following season, Pogba made his first-team debut under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, in a 3-0 win at Leeds United in the English League Cup.

However, unable to compete for a place at Old Trafford, Pogba left for Juventus on a free transfer in the summer of 2012. In fact, the Italian team had to pay Man Utd nearly $2.5 million in training fees. During his four years in Turin, Pogba made remarkable progress, scoring 28 goals in 124 matches, helping Juventus win four Serie A titles, two Italian Cups, two Italian Super Cups and finish runner-up in the 2015 Champions League. At Euro 2016, Pogba and the French team reached the final match at home, losing 0-1 to Portugal.

In 2016, Man Utd spent a record $131 million to bring Pogba back to Old Trafford, breaking the record $111 million that Real paid Tottenham in 2013 for Gareth Bale. Over the past six years, the French midfielder has scored 39 goals and assisted 51 goals, helping Man Utd win the Community Shield, League Cup and Europa League in the 2016-2017 season, under Jose Mourinho.

But in the final stages, his relationship with the team was tense. In the summer of 2022, Pogba left Man Utd to return to Juventus as a free agent. He only received $8.5 million in salary per season at Juventus, less than half of what he earned when playing at Old Trafford.

Pogba returned to Juventus with high expectations, but in fact had the worst season of his career. He injured his right knee cartilage in pre-season, had surgery, missed the 2022 World Cup and did not return until February 2023. After a few appearances from the bench, the French midfielder injured a muscle in a training session and was out for a month. In May, Pogba ended his season early due to a hamstring problem. In total, he had just one assist in 10 games in all competitions, with 161 minutes on the pitch.