Pogba ready to give up money to play for Juventus again after doping ban

MILAN (AP) — Paul Pogba says he’s ready to give up money to play for Juventus again. The Serie A club may not want him, though, or need him.

Pogba recently had his four-year ban for doping reduced to 18 months 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.

Juventus has not been overly enthusiastic about welcoming him back but Pogba says that is the only club he is thinking about playing for.

“I am ready to even give up money so that I can still play for Juve,” he said in an interview with Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport. “I want to return.”

Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli and new coach Thiago Motta are dubious about whether Pogba can return to the top level after being out for so long since testing positive for testosterone in August last year.

But the 31-year-old Pogba, who said he “felt like a caged lion” for the past year, has been training hard on his own and is ready to prove them wrong.

“I am a Juve player now. That is all I have in my mind today,” he said. “I don’t have to talk. What I do on the pitch will do my talking and then Thiago Motta will judge with his own eyes, based on what he sees.

“Talk is nice, but I want to play and I want to be the best one at Juve and in the France team.”

But not only has Juventus changed coach since Pogba was banned, it has also changed strategy.

It has brought in fresh new faces, including bright talents who progressed through its youth team, and got rid of the — costly — old guard with the offseason departures of Federico Chiesa, Wojciech Szczęsny, Alex Sandro and Adrien Rabiot.

Pogba, who was the most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for 105 million euros ($113 million) in 2016, returned to the Bianconeri as a free agent in 2022.

He signed a contract worth eight million euros ($8.7 million) a year — plus two million ($2.2 million) in bonuses — but injuries limited him to just eight Serie A appearances in his second spell at the club before his ban.

The judges who cut Pogba’s ban acknowledged the lack of intent but suggested the 2018 World Cup winner should have taken more care about his treatment in Florida.

“What I did wrong was not looking at what a professional gave me. I repeat, a professional,” Pogba said. “Like a lot of soccer players, I have a cook, a trainer and a personal physiotherapist.

“It’s not a matter of reading the leaflet better, a professional outside the club had given it to me. But I won’t do the same thing again, that’s certain.”

Without Pogba, Juventus hasn’t fared too badly.

The Bianconeri managed to finish third last season despite going through what the club called a rebuilding year following turmoil off the field.

This season, Juventus is the only team still unbeaten in Serie A, after seven matches, and it sits three points behind early leader Napoli going into this weekend’s match at home to Lazio.

“Not everything depends on me, but also on Juve’s plans and how I train,” said Pogba, who also issued a warning to his doubters.

“I will be a new Pogba: Hungrier, wiser and stronger.”