- Paul Pogba had his sanction reduced from four years to 18 months on appeal
- He can return to action in March but Juventus terminated his contract last month
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Paul Pogba is putting in the work ahead of his highly-anticipated return to football.
The French World Cup winner was shockingly hit with a four-year doping ban in February after a drugs test found increased levels of testosterone in his system.
However, the star was handed a lifeline in October when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the sanction from four years to 18 months following an appeal.
The original suspension, that commenced on September 11, 2023, will end in March 2025.
The 31-year-old is currently training in Miami with coaches, working on both his football and physical fitness.
The Athletic report that Pogba would like to join a club in the January transfer window but it remains to be seen if that will happen.
Paul Pogba is putting in the work ahead of his highly-anticipated return to football
Pogba is currently working on his fitness in Miami and could join a club in January
Juventus announced a mutual agreement to terminate Pogba’s contract last month
The former Man United man wants to get himself back to 100 per cent and could wait it out until the summer when there will be more potential suitors.
A number of clubs are believed to be interested and a decision with regards to a timeline for his return will be made soon.
Pogba swapped Manchester for Turin in 2022 after a tumultuous stint which saw him play for the club 233 times and score 39 goals.
He had arrived at Old Trafford in 2016 for a world-record £89m fee but failed to meet lofty expectations and fall-outs with a string of managers meant his future was uncertain for his last three years at the side.
Juventus and Pogba agreed to a mutual termination of his contract last month, over a year since his last game for the club.
It was reported that clubs from the MLS, Saudi Arabia, and the Premier League are among those showing interest in giving him a platform for a comeback.
In the CAS’ final judgement it was confirmed that Pogba did inadvertently take DHEA, a substance that boosts testosterone that is on WADA’s banned list. Crucially, however, the ruling states that DHEA only has an affect on females.
Pogba’s appeal took place at the CAS’ HQ in Switzerland at the end of August but the player was only informed of the verdict weeks later.
The French World Cup winner later released a statement in which he celebrated the end of ‘the nightmare’.
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