Paul Pogba was only 25 years old when he won the World Cup with France in Russia 2018. In some ways, he already felt like he was a veteran, and yet, the way he played in the final against Croatia, he also looked like the best Without a doubt, the breakthrough of his career is ahead.
That final at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium was like an epiphany for those of us who had grown tired of Pogba’s football career being reinvented as a boring soap opera that was increasingly dominated by poor results at Manchester United after his record move to Old Trafford. .
But in the World Cup final, Pogba played as if he were the king of the world. He let his football do the talking and was the most eloquent and expressive even a witty man like him had ever been. Antoine Griezmann was the official man of the match, but most people knew it was Pogba.
That night he dominated the most important stage in football. With France reeling slightly into a 2-1 lead in the second half, it was Pogba who played a brilliant pass inside a Croatian full-back for Kylian Mbappé to run onto.
Pogba did not sit back and admire his pass. He ran to the edge of the area and when Mbappé and Griezmann returned it to him, he saw a shot blocked by a defender and then magnificently slotted the rebound with his left foot into the corner of the Croatian goal. As he ran toward the corner flag, he was buried by an avalanche of his teammates.
Paul Pogba, pictured here winning the 2018 World Cup with France, has been banned from football for four years for doping.
The midfielder scored in the World Cup final to help France to a 4-2 victory against Croatia.
Kylian Mbappe (right) combined with Pogba to help the former Man United star score to put France up 3-1.
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That day in Moscow, Pogba played like the best midfielder in the world. He always felt like he had that in him. He had all the attributes. He had the brains, the build and the athleticism. In his best moment, in his first stage at Juventus and in France, he was a magnificent footballer.
That’s why Thursday’s news that Pogba has been banned from football for four years after a drug test found elevated levels of testosterone in his system was so sad. He felt, above all, like a waste of extravagant talent.
Pogba, who was provisionally suspended in September after a drug test in Italy, is still only 30 and had been trying to get his career back on track after his first season at Juventus last season was ruined by a succession of injuries. .
He was randomly tested after Juventus’ season opener on August 20 and the positive test was confirmed by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal in a second sample in October.
Pogba has denied the accusations against him and has said he will appeal the sanction. “Everything I have built in my professional career has been taken away from me,” he said in a statement. “I am sad, shocked and heartbroken.”
The same goes for all fans of the French international and the majority of people who love the game. It is strange to talk about a player who won the World Cup wasting his talent because he achieved more than the vast majority of footballers will ever achieve. But he could have achieved much more.
Even since Manchester United resigned in 2016 for a world-record transfer fee of £89 million, which exceeded the amount Real Madrid had paid Spurs for Gareth Bale, there was a feeling that Pogba’s career at the club He was adrift and had become a slave to his own celebrity.
Perhaps that has something to do with society’s difficulty in addressing the financial and social empowerment of young footballers from disadvantaged backgrounds, particularly young black footballers from disadvantaged backgrounds, as with the antics of those players.
The 30-year-old tested positive for testosterone after Juventus’ first game of the season against Udinese.
Pogba has confirmed his intention to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and has denied the accusations made against him
José Mourinho (left) was Man United manager when Pogba returned to the club and suffered under the Portuguese manager.
Pogba won two League Cups with Man United and the Europa League with Mourinho in 2017
Perhaps, in Pogba’s case, it also had something to do with being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Pogba’s return to Old Trafford came at a time when United were still in the early stages of their attempt to recover from the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, who had been the manager in Pogba’s first spell at the club.
José Mourinho was the manager when Pogba signed and his period in charge of United was increasingly marked by negativity and bitterness from a manager who had fallen from his once exalted position as one of the world’s elite managers. Mourinho was a man out of his time and Pogba was one of the many who suffered for it.
And so, it began to seem like there was a disconnect between his celebrity and his performance on the court. United worked in the shadow of Manchester City. Although they finished second behind City in 2017-18, they were 19 points behind Pep Guardiola’s team.
And so, as Pogba descended into mediocrity at his club, discussion about him focused more on his antics, his goal celebration and the time he dyed his hair blue before a Manchester derby.
He was heavily criticized for that, but scored two goals in United’s comeback. He still had the ability to rise to the great occasion. That derby was just a few months before that 2018 World Cup final.
Pogba was not a failure at United in the way that Antony, say, has been. He was often the best player in the club. But partly because of his fee, partly because of his image, partly because of his profile, the expectations around him were through the roof and he struggled to live up to them.
But as Man United struggled, it began to appear there was a disconnect between his celebrity and his performance on the field (Pogba pictured here with his wife Zulay in February 2023).
The former Man United star shared a photo at Paris Fashion Week with Jadon Sancho (right)
However, it seems that the sanction imposed on the midfielder, famous for his ‘dab’ celebration, will mark the end of his career.
Like many other players, he also had problems with those around him trying to take advantage of his wealth. One of his brothers was involved in an extortion plot against him. The sadness of that must have been difficult to overcome.
His career at United petered out. When he moved to Juventus, many hoped and hoped that he would find a new lease on life and that his career would be reborn. Injuries ended any chance of that.
If his appeal against the length of his ban fails, it would appear that the sentence handed down to him on Thursday would mark the end of his career. It will be retroactive to the time of his original suspension, but that means more than three more years out of the game.
He would be almost 34 years old when he could return, his best years were far, far away from him. His best moment came when he was 25 years old. No wonder he and the rest of football are mourning what was lost.