French professional footballer, Paul Pogba has been banned from football for four years after testing positive for doping.
As reported by La Repubblica, the 30-year-old tested positive for testosterone following Juventus’s first game of the season against Udinese. Consequently, he received a substantial penalty from an anti-doping prosecutor’s office in Italy on Thursday.
Pogba’s lawyers declined a plea deal and aimed to secure a reduced sentence for their client. They argued that he had inadvertently consumed the substance responsible for the positive test.
However, the prosecution did not believe Pogba’s defence, and he has now been given a ban that could potentially end his career.
Pogba will turn 31 next month, meaning he will not be able to return to the pitch until he is almost 35.
The Juventus midfielder was once the most expensive footballer in the world.
In 2016, Pogba made a comeback to Manchester United’s Old Trafford after emerging from the club’s academy and finding success at Juventus.
Man United paid £89m to secure his services from the Italian giants. Following his World Cup victory with France two years later, where he scored in the final against Croatia, Pogba encountered difficulties in replicating his success at United.
In 2022, he departed from the 13-time Premier League champions for the second time on a free transfer, returning to Juventus with hopes of revitalizing his career.
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