Juventus not enthusiastic on welcoming back Paul Pogba after doping ban reduced

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Juventus does not seem overly enthusiastic about welcoming back Paul Pogba.

Pogba had his four-year ban for doping reduced to 18 months on Friday after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, meaning the France World Cup winner will be free to resume his career in March 2025.

Pogba, who tested positive for testosterone in August last year, said he “just cannot wait to get back on the pitch.”

His club, Juventus, does not appear to feel the same.

“We’re waiting for the sentence documents, then we’ll make a decision,” sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli said before Saturday’s Serie A match against Cagliari.

Juventus not enthusiastic on welcoming back Paul Pogba after doping ban reduced | iNFOnews.ca — FILE – France’s Paul Pogba runs with the ball during an international friendly soccer match against Cote d’Ivoire at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France, March 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

“He was a great player but he’s been out of action for a long time.”

Giuntoli’s comments echoed those of coach Thiago Motta in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“The club will decide what to do about Pogba,” Motta said. “For me, he was a great player, he hasn’t played for a long time. Now I’m focused only on tomorrow’s match, everything else matters little to me at the moment.”

The 31-year-old Pogba was the most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros ($113 million) in 2016.

He starred in France’s World Cup triumph in 2018 and returned to Juventus as a free agent in 2022. But injuries limited him to just eight Serie A appearances in his second spell at the club before his ban.