Pogba set to return in March after doping ban reduced to 18 months

Paul Pogba's four-year doping ban has been cut to 18 months, allowing him to resume his once-glittering career as early as March, Matthieu Reeb, the director general of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, told Reuters on Friday.

"The suspension is now 18 months, starting Sept. 11, 2023," Reeb confirmed.

Pogba was provisionally suspended in September 2023 after testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone, which is on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of prohibited substances because it can produce testosterone. The 31-year-old immediately brought the case to the CAS, which resolves legal disputes in the field of sports.

Pogba released a statement after the verdict to thank judges for hearing his explanation while saying he "never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency regulations."

"I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes," he added, according to BBC Sport's Dan Roan.

Pogba can now suit up for Juventus starting March 11. While the club suspended his estimated €8-million annual salary during the appeals process, it didn't terminate his contract, leaving him with another year and a half remaining on his deal.

"This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold," Pogba said in his statement. "Thank you for your love and support. I just cannot wait to get back on the pitch."

In an earlier post on X, the player seemed to suggest he was ready to play again.

Pogba's initial ban was set to run until August 2027. He would've been 34 by the time it expired, as well as a free agent.

Italy's anti-doping tribunal issued the four-year ban after learning the 2018 World Cup winner tested positive following Juventus' 2023-24 opener against Udinese in August 2023. A subsequent sample also showed testosterone metabolites were present in his system.

Pogba appealed the verdict and insisted he "never knowingly or deliberately" took any substances that "violate anti-doping regulations." His representatives emphasized that the testosterone had come from a food supplement a U.S. doctor had prescribed to the player.

The doping violation threatened to bring a premature end to the career of one of the most expensive players of all time. Manchester United bought Pogba from Juventus in 2016 for a then-world-record transfer fee of €105 million. After six up-and-down seasons with United, during which time he was often criticized for his lackadaisical performances, the French midfielder returned to Juventus on a free transfer in July 2022.

Injuries and fitness issues limited Pogba to 12 competitive appearances and forced him to miss the 2022 World Cup. He also suffered an extortion attempt led by his brother Mathias, who threatened to reveal embarrassing secrets about his sibling. French prosecutors confirmed Pogba was held at gunpoint by childhood friends until he agreed to pay them €100,000.

"Money changes people. It can break up a family, it can create a war, it can create everything," he said last year.

"Sometimes I was just by myself thinking, 'I don't want to have money anymore. I just don't want to play anymore. I just want to be with normal people so they will love me for me, not for the fame, not for the money.'"