Paul Pogba has shared a cryptic post on social media as he looks set to return to the beautiful game for the first time after an 18-month doping ban from the sport.
The former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder was handed a four-year doping ban after returning an adverse drug test. However, that suspension was later slashed to just 18 months.
Now, the ban has been served and Pogba is free to play the game once again with many European clubs eager to bring him on board.
One of those clubs is set to do just that, with the midfielder now reportedly on the verge of a move to Ligue 1 side Monaco.
A medical is believed to be pencilled in at the Champions League side after they reached an agreement on a two-year contract with Pogba earlier this week.
Ahead of the move, it appears that the World Cup winner is set to jet off somewhere as he posted a selfie from within an airport departure lounge, accompanied by a four-emoji-long message.
Paul Pogba posted a picture smiling in what looks like an airport departure lounge on Instagram
Pogba is reportedly close to returning to football once more after his 18-month doping ban
The post on Instagram first shows Pogba travelling somewhere with a seatbelt on, while the picture that follows looks to show him smiling in a lounge.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano previously reported that Pogba was set to fly into the principality of Monaco to undergo a medical, before putting pen to paper on a contract, which has led to speculation that Pogba’s post is in regards to that.
French newspaper Le Parisien reported on Tuesday that Pogba had made ‘significant financial sacrifices’ to agree terms with the Ligue 1 side, with an agreement having been reached on Sunday.
Though he has not actually played a game since September 2023, he has at least been sharing the progress of his training regime on social media in order to reignite his football career.
Joining Monaco would see Pogba return to the Champions League after the Ligue 1 side finished third in the league behind Marseille and champions PSG.
Despite representing France 91 times and winning the World Cup with Les Bleus in 2018, he has never actually played in the country’s top-flight.
Having come through the ranks at Manchester United, he joined Juventus before a then-record return to Old Trafford in 2016.
From United, he once again joined Juventus on a free transfer in 2022, before his life came crumbling down in his second season back at the Old Lady when he learned of his suspension.
The former Man United star was initially given a four-year suspension from football before it was cut to 18 months
Last weekend, Pogba trained with Man United stars Leny Yoro (left) and Kobbie Mainoo
The 30-year-old tested positive for testosterone after Juventus’s first game of the 2023-24 season against Udinese, and was given a hefty four-yeard punishment by an anti-doping prosecutor’s office in Italy.
However, in October 2024 Mail Sport exclusively revealed that the former France international’s original suspension had been slashed to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In CAS’ final judgement, it was confirmed that Pogba did inadvertently take DHEA, a substance that boosts testosterone that is on WADA’s banned list. Crucially, however, the ruling states that DHEA only affects females.
In an exclusive interview with Mail Sport last year, Pogba revealed the story of how he found out the news that he would be able to play football again in 2025.
‘Here’s a funny story: I was trying on a new suit for a film premiere but I didn’t have my phone,’ Pogba told Mail Sport.
‘My wife (Zulay) comes rushing upstairs with my phone screaming, “It’s the lawyer”. I said I would call him back but she said I had to take the call.
‘So I went downstairs to speak to him with the suit on! He told me the news and I was silent. Everyone was jumping, so happy but I was in shock. Quickly that happiness turned into a determination. We went through hell. A time of darkness. But this is my second chance, I have to use it. I was pumped.’
