Paul Pogba is reportedly set to ‘leave’ Serie A giants Juventus and Manchester United legend Patrice Evra has proposed a possible next destination.
The 31-year-old left Man Utd upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the 2021/22 season after he failed to live up to his mammoth £89m price tag.
Pogba‘s second stint at Old Trafford was a rollercoaster as he struggled to replicate the form he previously showed at Juventus.
The France international returned to Juventus ahead of the 2022/23, but this transfer has been disastrous.
The experienced midfielder only made ten appearances across all competitions during his second debut season as he was sidelined for much of the campaign with a meniscus injury.
In September 2023, Pogba was provisionally suspended after testing positive for the banned substance dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Then in March, the former Man Utd star was given a four-year ban for doping.
However, Pogba appealed this verdict and it was confirmed on Friday that his ban has been reduced to 18 months. This means he’ll be free to make his return in March 2025.
In a statement, Pogba said: “Finally the nightmare is over. I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again,” the player said in a statement.
“I always stated that I never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes.
“I play with integrity and, although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I want to place on record my thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s judges who heard my explanation.
“This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold.”
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Despite this, Evra thinks Pogba “needs to turn the page” and he’s intimidated that he will try to get him a move to Ligue Un outfit Marseille.
“I think that 99% we won’t see Paul in the Juventus colours again. He needs to turn the page,” Evra said.
“I’m going to call Mehdi Benatia [Marseille’s sporting director] to give him [Pogba] a phone call, because the doors are open.”
A report in Italy claims Pogba ‘will leave’ Juventus as plans are already in the works for him to move elsewhere.
It’s claimed that his exit could come via ‘an agreement will be found to divorce sixteen months before the natural expiry (June 2026) or it will come to a unilateral separation’.
Regarding what’s next, the report claims Pogba is ‘more likely’ to ‘start again’ in the MLS when he returns.
