Monaco manager breaks silence on Paul Pogba 'of Manchester United' and explains what is 'true' about player

Monaco manager Sebastien Pocognoli has powerfully spoken out about the history of Paul Pogba’s mixed playing career at both Manchester United and Juventus.

The Ligue 1 club rolled the dice in the summer and made the decision to sign Paul Pogba after the former Manchester United midfielder completed his doping ban.

Pogba had initially been banned for four years after he failed a drugs test during his time at Juventus, with his sentence handed down to him in February 2024.

The 32-year-old former United star had been provisionally suspended in September 2023 after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone in his system.

A second sample was tested from Pogba only a month after his failed drugs test and the ex-Juventus midfielder tested positive again, which later resulted in his ban.

The initial ban was backdated to his first failed drugs test, but Pogba’s sentence was reduced after a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in 2024.

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Sebastien Pocognoli speaks out on Monaco midfielder Paul Pogba and his time at Juventus and Man Utd

Paul Pogba served his 18-month ban for his doping offence and the former Manchester United and Juventus player signed for Monaco back in June.

Speaking ahead of Monaco’s Ligue 1 clash against Nantes, Sebastien Pocognoli insisted that Pogba is now a different player from the person who was at United.

“I said this week would be used to answer some questions about him [Pogba],” he said, as per Goal.

“Things are going well, and I expect him to be back in the squad in the short term.”

Pocognoli added in his pre-match press conference: “I think we’ll have to do a process together around Paul. We have to judge him on the player he is now.

“The Paul of Manchester United or his first era at Juventus, and this is true for any player, that was a few years ago.”

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Sebastien Pocognoli’s defence of Monaco signing former Man Utd and Juventus player Paul Pogba

Pogba, who inked a deal with Monaco until 2027, has not played for the French side since he signed because of a minor thigh strain in training that he suffered this month.

Pocognoli remains open-minded about the role the 2018 World Cup winner can play for Monaco and believes that he can tap into the potential of the club’s summer signing.

“Every player evolves; we’ll have to judge him on what he is now, given his background and his age,” he added.

“He still has the technique we know he has, and the pace of matches will give us some insight.

“His background is different from 10 years ago. It’s up to me to stimulate his qualities and the potential he has right now. And I hope to get the most out of it.”

Pogba, who denied any wrongdoing over the offence that led to his football ban, had two separate spells with United and Juventus during his playing career.

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