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Paul Pogba: Solskjaer let me leave Man Utd but Ed Woodward blocked move

The France midfielder insists he is an ‘honest person’ and ‘not a cheat’ after having drugs ban reduced, meaning he is free to return to action in March

ANDREA STACCIOLI/INSIDEFOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK

ANDREA STACCIOLI/INSIDEFOTO/SHUTTERSTOCK

Paul Pogba has accepted responsibility for taking a banned substance that resulted in an initial four-year drugs ban but stressed that he is “not a cheat” as he looks to get his career back on track.

The France midfielder admitted taking a supplement that contained dehydroepiandrosterone (a drug that can raise testosterone levels) but said that the four-year ban he was originally handed was unfair. He strongly denied taking anything for performance-enhancing reasons.

The drug showed up in a routine test in September 2023 after he had taken supplements prescribed to him by a doctor, and he has not played since. But a successful appeal against the ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport resulted in his ban being reduced to 18 months on October 4, which means he will be able to return to play in March.

Asked in an interview with Sky if he accepted responsibility for taking the substance, the former Manchester United midfielder replied: “Yes, for sure. It means there was a possibility that I took the supplement and I didn’t triple-check.”

Pogba, who is under contract with Juventus, explained the tablets he had taken which led to the positive drugs test were “health” supplements that people would normally get from a chemist but which he was prescribed by a doctor.

“I was shocked. They are accusing me of doping? I immediately started thinking, ‘What did I eat? What cream did I use?’ ” he told the Daily Mail. “I had so many problems outside football and the injuries. [After leaving United in 2022] I wanted Juventus to be a reset for me. And then this happens. Why me? I just wanted to play football but instead I was drowning with problems and it wasn’t ending.”The 31-year-old added: “I’m an honest person, I’m not a cheater, I’m someone who loves my sport, I love the game and I would never ever cheat. I don’t like to cheat, I like to win fairly and people know that. You see me, I’m a bad loser but I’m not a cheater, that’s for sure.”

 

 

With the initial ban meaning he would not have returned until August 2027, when he would have been 35 years old, doubts started to creep into his mind about his future. Support from his wife, Zulay, and his family enabled him to stop considering whether his career might be over.

“It [thinking his career was over] came to my mind. As soon as it came into my mind, I took it and I threw it away because I didn’t want to think like that,” he said.

While he said friends had reached out to offer support, other opportunities had started to dry up, with people not wanting to associate with a professional sportsperson who had failed a drugs test.“Paul Pogba — the famous guy — is no more. People were avoiding me. I used to get invited to fashion weeks and events like that,” he said. “Now they were like: ‘We can’t use Pogba.’ My friends weren’t ringing like the way they were ringing before.”

He credited his wife, his children and his religion for getting him through the past year but now has to look to rebuild his career again, which is not a new thing for Pogba: he had to do the same when he left United for the second time in 2022.

Having come through the United academy before leaving for Juventus, he returned to Old Trafford in 2016, for what was then a world-record fee of £89million, and had hoped that he would be the star of the side. For various reasons that never transpired, and he revealed on Wednesday that he first asked to leave in 2019, three years before his eventual departure.

 

Pogba said: “I didn’t want to play for United any more [in 2019]. Mentally I wasn’t there and then I got the injuries”
Pogba said: “I didn’t want to play for United any more [in 2019]. Mentally I wasn’t there and then I got the injuries”
PHIL NOBLE/REUTERS
 
 

“The year José [Mourinho] went and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came, it was my best season at United, but after the last game I told Ole and Ed Woodward [the executive vice-chairman at the time] that I thought it was my last year and that I wanted to leave,” he said.

“I was 27 back then, it didn’t work out the way I wanted. I gave my best but I didn’t see the club going upwards. Manchester City and Liverpool were better than us and they were improving. Ole said yes [to me leaving] and that he would talk to Ed.“I wanted to go but I came back for pre-season because I wanted to be professional. I spoke to Ed to try to make a move but he blocked it. I didn’t want to play for United any more but I had to be professional. Mentally I wasn’t there and then I got the injuries.”

Injuries were hampering his return at Juventus before the positive test and now Pogba has a new battle on his hands as he aims to get his career back on track. It appears unlikely that he will play for the Serie A giants again but he would not rule out a return to the Premier League, as he believes he can still compete at the top level once his ban is completed.

“My vision is to come back training and show that I’m a football player and that I’m a new Paul Pogba but Paul Pogba with the same qualities and I’m still there and I’m still ready. That’s all I’m thinking of,” he said.

Wherever he ends up plying his trade, his goal is to once again represent his country, having lifted the World Cup with them in 2018.

“It’s in my mind for sure [to play for France again] but I have to be ready for that,” he said. “I’m still the same player with a different hunger. I’m more motivated and more hungry and I appreciate the game more than before because it was taken away from me.”

Author: Charlotte Duncker

Source: The Sunday Times

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