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Paul Pogba set to return from doping ban after agreeing two-year deal with Champions League side: report

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Paul Pogba was hit with a four-year doping ban in February 2024 that was then reduced on appeal

Paul Pogba salutes the Juventus fans after a game against Chievo Verona in September 2012.
Paul Pogba's last appearance came for Juventus at the start of the 2023/24 season (Image credit: Getty Images)

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is reportedly closing in on a return to football following the end of his doping ban.

The 32-year-old was handed a four-year suspension following a positive test for banned substance DHEA in February 2024, but saw his sentence reduced to 18 months in October following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

That meant that the France international’s ban came to an end in March and he now appears to be closing in on a return.

Pogba set for return with Champions League side

Paul Pogba

Pogba won the 2018 World Cup with France (Image credit: PA)

Pogba’s last appearance on a football pitch came when he played 29 minutes for Juventus against Empoli in September 2023, with his last 90-minute outing coming during his time as a Manchester United player in March 2022.

And now, according to French outlet Le Parisien, the former World Cup winner has agreed a two-year deal with AS Monaco.

Pogba returned to Manchester United in a £89million move in August, 2026

Pogba returned to Manchester United in a £89million move in August, 2026 (Image credit: PA Images)

The report adds that ‘significant financial sacrifices’ were made by Pogba in order to agree a deal with the Ligue 1 side, with a deal finally being sorted on Sunday following several days of discussion.

Monaco’s third-place Ligue 1 finish this season means Pogba now has the chance to play in the Champions League next term.

During his time on the sidelines when he was initially hit with a four-year ban, Pogba admitted he considered retirement. "Yeah, I had many thoughts in my head, I had so many thoughts to even stop playing,” he told ESPN in October 2024.

"I'm like: 'What am I going to do?' If it's four years, you start making the maths in your head. ... Four years not playing, training -- which club is going to want me? Would I be fit and stuff like that, you make a lot of pictures in your head.

Paul Pogba in action for Juventus against Bologna in August 2023.

Pogba's Juventus contract was terminated in November 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)

"But on the other side, I had faith obviously, and I was positive. I knew I didn't do anything wrong on purpose, so then thankfully that happened and they reduce it."

Pogba, who has 91 France caps was the world’s most expensive player in 2016 when he returned to Manchester United from Juventus in a £89million move and would return to the Serie A side when his Old Trafford team expired in 2022.

Joe Mewis
Joe Mewis

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.

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