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Paul Pogba has admitted that he considered retiring from football after receiving a four-year doping ban.
The 31-year-old French midfielder successfully appealed the ban, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reducing it to 18 months earlier this month.
This means Pogba can return to professional football in March 2025.
Speaking to ESPN, Pogba revealed the toll the original decision had on him, saying: “Yeah, I had many thoughts in my head, I had so many thoughts to even stop playing.
“You start making the maths in your head. Four years not playing, training – which club is going to want me? Would I be fit?”
Despite these doubts, Pogba remained hopeful, saying he always believed in his innocence.
He added: “I knew I didn’t do anything wrong on purpose.”
🚨🇫🇷 Paul Pogba announces to ESPN: “For sure it’s gonna be a new Pogba. For sure. Even better than before”.
“More hungry and with more determination. I feel like a kid who wants to be a professional again. This is what drives me”. pic.twitter.com/PUHXrVooyY
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 16, 2024
Pogba tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a substance that increases testosterone, after Juventus’ first match of the 2023-24 season against Udinese in August 2023.
His last professional appearance came on September 3, 2023, against Empoli, before news of his failed test was made public.
Reflecting on the experience, Pogba said: “When you sit back and see how things went through my whole life, not only the doping, I’m like yeah, definitely I gained 10 more years, got more experience, more sage I would say, more wise.
“At the end of the day, obviously I took responsibility for not double-checking,” he admitted.
Pogba remained tight-lipped about his club future.
Juventus and Pogba are reportedly in discussions regarding the termination of his contract, which could allow him to sign with a new team ahead of his return in March.
He said: “Right now I’m with Juventus, so we don’t know really what’s going on.”