AS Monaco have confirmed the signing of Paul Pogba on a two-year contract.
Suspended since February 2024 following a positive test for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a substance that increases testosterone and features on the list of banned substances of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the France international was free of contract following the termination of the one that bound him to Juventus.
Pogba, 32, becomes Monaco’s second signing of the summer, following the arrival, also free, of Eric Dier from Bayern Munich. An experienced addition (and, incidentally, already one of the biggest coups of the Ligue 1 mercato), the midfielder is a welcome reinforcement for the Monegasque squad, which finished third in the league last season and has qualified for the forthcoming Champions League.
With a year to go before the World Cup, Pogba will be hoping to regain some playing time and a certain level of competitiveness, given his open ambition to return to the French national team as soon as possible.
Trained at Le Havre, Pogba left his formative club to join Manchester United’s academy before being given the opportunity to make his professional debut. The Frenchman then joined Juventus in 2012, before returning to the Red Devils four years later for a fee of €105m. In 2022, having reached the end of his contract, he returned to the Bianconeri, but had a difficult second spell, marked in particular by injuries. At Monaco, “La Pioche” is set to discover the elite of French football for the first time in his career.
The midfielder also made 91 appearances for France, scoring 11 goals, and won the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 Nations League.
