French footballer Paul Pogba has received a four-year suspension from the Italian anti-doping tribunal, as confirmed by his club Juventus.
Pogba, 30, has played for the French national team 91 times and was part of the 2018 World Cup winning team. He tested positive for synthetic testosterone in August last year following a match between Udinese and Juventus.
The use of this muscle-enhancing substance led the Italian anti-doping agency’s prosecutor to call for Pogba’s four-year suspension, which he has held provisionally since September 12.
The midfielder links his positive test to a dietary supplement prescribed by a US doctor. He reportedly declined an earlier agreement to accept guilt and serve a two-year suspension.
Returning to Juventus in 2022 after leaving Manchester United in 2016, Pogba was the world’s most expensive footballer at the time of his transfer – €110 million. This record was exceeded by Neymar’s move from Barcelona to PSG in 2017.
With a looming four-year suspension, Pogba’s football career faces an uncertain future.
