The five key moments in Pogba’s disastrous second spell at Juventus | OneFootball

Paul Pogba will formally leave Juventus on November 30, 2024, ending a disastrous second spell at the Allianz Stadium: here are the five key moments since he returned from Manchester United in 2022.

Juventus and Pogba have agreed to terminate their contract by mutual consent, and the French player will formally leave the club at the end of the month.

He had returned for his second stint in Turin in the summer of 2022, after the end of his contract with Manchester United, but collected just 12 competitive appearances since.

Pogba struggled with injuries in 2022-23 and failed a doping test at the beginning of the last campaign. The initial four-year ban has been reduced to an 18-month suspension, but Pogba was still not part of the club’s plans.

So, what went wrong in Turin over the last two and a half years? Let’s take a look.

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY – JULY 01: Paul Pogba is seen in attendance in the stands prior to the UEFA EURO 2024 round of 16 match between France and Belgium at Düsseldorf Arena on July 01, 2024 in Dusseldorf, Germany. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Injuries

The French midfielder had been dealing with a meniscus injury since the 2022-23 summer pre-season, but he initially decided against undergoing surgery, fearing that he would miss the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, conservative treatment didn’t yield the desired results. Therefore, Pogba underwent surgery in September 2022 but took several months to recover, making his first Serie A appearance in March 2023 and missing the World Cup with his national team.

Change of guard

Looking backwards, a fundamental change in Pogba’s second spell at Juventus was also the resignation of Andrea Agnelli and the entire club board in November 2022. Most of these people had signed Pogba twice at Juventus, first in 2012 and then 10 years later. The French midfielder, Juventus’ No.10 at that time, was still on the treatment table when Agnelli resigned and even if Massimiliano Allegri remained in charge of the Bianconeri as the team’s coach, a new era was about to begin in Turin. Cristiano Giuntoli was appointed as the club’s sports director before the 2023-24 campaign started, and his relationship with Pogba was naturally different from that of previous directors.

Doping test

Pogba finished the 2022-23 campaign with just ten competitive appearances and 161 minutes of football. When he seemed to have recovered from his fitness issues, he failed a doping test at the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign. It happened after a Serie A match against Udinese in August 2023, which he had spent entirely on the bench. Pogba was precautionarily suspended from September, so he could not train with the rest of the team, and his €8m-a-year salary was cut to barely €2,000 per month.

Ban

The former Manchester United midfielder was found to have traces of the banned substance DHEA in his system. DHEA is known to cause increased levels of testosterone in the system. An initial four-year ban was confirmed in February 2024. The ruling could have ended Pogba’s career prematurely, but the French midfielder appealed to the European Court of Arbitration in Lausanne, which ruled last month that the midfielder’s suspension should be cut to 18 months, allowing him to return to action in March 2025.

Final attempt

It was just a matter of time before Juventus terminated Pogba’s contract. The club gave the midfielder’s No.10 to emerging talent Kenan Yildiz last summer, but Pogba still desperately attempted to remain in Turin last month. During a number of interviews – not authorised by the club – Pogba said he was ready to take a pay cut to stay in Turin. It was still not enough for Giuntoli and Juventus’ new coach, Thiago Motta, who had made their decision long ago. The leading Juventus pair clearly stated that Pogba belonged to the past at Juventus, so both parties are now ready for a fresh start.