Doping Ban: I have Not Retired – Pogba

Embattled French midfielder, Paul Pogba, has insisted 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 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.”

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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.