Juventus' Paul Pogba Provisionally Suspended After Testing Positive for Testosterone
Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRT
Featured Columnist IVSeptember 11, 2023
Juventus and France midfielder Paul Pogba has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for testosterone following a 3-0 win over Udinese on Aug. 20, according to Fabrizio Romano.
ANSA previously reported the failed doping test.
Colin Millar @Millar_ColinPaul Pogba reportedly tested positive for testosterone from a drugs test after Juventus vs Udinese. Italian media say he has three days to produce a counter-analysis of the result. If found guilty, doping bans carry suspensions from playing lasting between 2-4 years. <a href="https://t.co/9qSneRv2oL">https://t.co/9qSneRv2oL</a>
Pogba, 30, could now be facing a multiple-year ban from the sport if he's indeed found guilty of doping.
Pogba has made two appearances for Juventus but no starts this season after making just one start in the 2022-23 campaign. Injuries largely kept him off the pitch both for Juventus and France, which included him missing the World Cup in Qatar.
He also was allegedly the victim of a €13 million ($13.9 million) extortion plot from his brother Mathias and friends from his childhood.
"Money changes people. ... It can break up a family," he told Al Jazeera's Generation Sport (h/t ESPN). "It can create a war. Sometimes I was just by myself thinking, 'I don't want to have money anymore. I just don't want to play anymore. I just want to be with normal people, so they will love me for me—not for the fame, not for the money.' Sometimes it's tough."
Pogba has starred for Manchester United, Juventus and the French national team, most prominently winning the World Cup in 2018 and four titles with Juventus.
But his second spell at Juventus has largely been a struggle, and Pogba was hoping to prove he was still one of the game's biggest talents.
"I want to make them eat their words," he said of his critics. "... I want to show them I'm not weak. They can talk bad about me. I will never give up."
"Football is very beautiful, but is cruel. People can forget you in one day. You can do something great, but the next day you are nobody," he continued. "People are waiting for you, saying: 'He's done, his career is finished.' You get these comments after scoring goals, and winning the World Cup. People forget it. So you have to prove all the time."
Now, however, it's unclear if Pogba will ever feature in a Juventus shirt—or any other kit, for that matter—again.
