Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has reportedly confirmed his return to professional football after signing a two-year deal with AS Monaco.
Pogba, 32, has been banned from the sport after a failed drugs test in September 2023 during a Serie A match for Juventus against Udinese.
In February 2024, the Frenchman was then hand handed a four-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after testing positive for DHEA – a prohibited substance on WADA’s banned list which boosts testosterone.
But the sentence was later reduced to 18 months in October after it was confirmed that Pogba had “inadvertently” used DHEA with the ruling acknowledging it “only has an effect on females,” according to the Daily Mail.
This allowed the midfielder to return in March 2025 and he has been searching for a new club since. He has been linked with clubs in Europe, the United States and the Saudi Pro League.
There were even suggestions of another return to Old Trafford with Pogba having first graduated through United’s academy and then re-signed for a club-record price of £89 million from Juventus in 2016.
This blockbuster move was not a successful one however, for club or player, with Pogba never fully establishing himself as the star player his transfer fee demanded.
Pogba left United on a free transfer in the summer of 2022 when his contract expired to re-join Juventus – the same route he had taken as a 19-year-old in 2012, which saw him develop into one of Europe’s standout midfielders in Turin.
But Pogba’s second stint for the Old Lady did not offer the same level of success with a stream of injuries curtailing his playing time. During the game against Udinese the following year which produced the adverse drugs test, he was not even on the pitch, having spent the entire match on the bench.
Pogba is believed to still retain hopes of representing France at the 2026 World Cup in America next summer. He previously played a pivotal role in Les Bleus’ triumph at the World Cup in Russia in 2018.
It’s likely this motivation which ruled out a move to the US or the Saudi Pro League, despite being able to earn more with either switch, as he wants to play in a top five European League.
Monaco finished 3rd in Ligue 1 last year and will play in the Champions League this season, giving Pogba the opportunity to compete in club football’s elite competition, as well as his first experience of France’s top division.
French outlet La Parisien reveals the 32-year-old has agreed a two-year contract with Monaco and took “significant financial sacrifices” to finalise the deal after weeks of negotiations with the Ligue 1 side.
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
