Paul Pogba has insisted he is not a cheater after his doping ban was reduced this month and says he is targeting a return to the France national team when his suspension expires in March.
The former Manchester United midfielder was banned for four years last February after being provisionally suspended since September last year after he tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). After a lengthy appeal process, the 31-year-old had his ban reduced to 18 months by the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) on 4 October.
The Cas judgment found Pogba’s ingestion of the banned substance “was not intentional” and was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida.
In an interview with Sky Sports News, the 2018 World Cup winner said he has always been a clean athlete. Pogba said: “I mean when you see me, you know me and people know me so even when all the thing happened, they were like: ‘No, for sure we know Paul, he would never take that. If he did, he didn’t know or it wasn’t on purpose.’ And this is totally the truth.
“I am an honest person and I would say it. At the end, I would say it, ‘yes I did because I felt like I need it’, and that’s not the case. This is not me. I am not a cheater. I am someone who loves my sport, I love the game and I would never ever. I don’t like to cheat. I like to win fairly and people know that. You see it. You see me, I am someone who is a bad loser, but I am not a cheater. That’s for sure.”
While Pogba is still contracted to Juventus until 2026, the 91-capped France international was coy about his club future and fielded various questions about where his next destination could be. A mutual termination of his contract with the Serie A club could occur, but if not Pogba can return to Juve training in January and is aiming to resume his international career.
Asked about returning for France, Pogba said: “That is what I hope. Of course it is in my mind for sure, but I have to be ready for that. There are players there that deserve to play and deserve to be national team. I have to win my place also in the national team again. Of course I am ready to fight.”
Pogba also promised to appreciate the sport more after he was given a glimpse into life after football and momentarily thought his career could be over following his initial ban.
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“Obviously I don’t want to lose the level I am at and, if I can surpass it, this is what I want,” Pogba said. “I don’t want my level to change. Still the same player with a different hunger and more motivated, more and more hungry and I will for sure appreciate the game more than before because the game has been taken away from me and I realise how important it is for me.
“I kind of tasted what life is after the career, kind of, so it will definitely be another Paul Pogba. Same but even more motivation to be on the pitch and play until the end of my career.”
