Paul Pogba watches Juventus
Paul Pogba watches Juventus
Paul Pogba's former Manchester United team-mate Wes Brown has ruled out a return to Old Trafford for the midfielder for a third spell.
Former United star Pogba has not played since September 2023, due to a four-year ban for failing a drugs test, which was subsequently reduced to 18 months.
Poga is eligible to join and train with a new team in January, but cannot play competitively until March, with United one of many clubs linked with the 31-year-old World Cup winner.
But ex-United defender Brown, who trained with Pogba at United when the Frenchman was promoted to the first-team squad in 2011 by Sir Alex Ferguson, said he cannot see the midfielder returning to his former club again. “I'm not sure about Paul Pogba coming back to United for a third time,” Brown told 10bet.
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“I can't see it happening. Paul, obviously, as an individual player, he's absolutely class. I've always loved how he played. Again, he gets a lot of stick, but there is no doubting his ability as an individual.
“Being out for 18 months will be tough for him – it will take him some time to get back to the levels we’ve seen him produce before. I know he'll be training somewhere, but it’s a bit different training in isolation, not being around world-class players.
“Someone will definitely pick him up, no doubt about it, but I can't see it's going to be Man United if I'm being honest.”
Pogba left United for the first time in 2012, joining Italian side Juventus, after refusing to sign a new deal with the Red Devils, citing a lack of first-team opportunities for his decision.
Former United boss Ferguson accused Pogba of disrespecting the club and claimed the player and his agent had been plotting the move to Juventus for some time.
Pogba has already had two spells at United and remains their record signing at £89m
Pogba returned to United, for a club record fee of £89million, in 2016 under Jose Mourinho, but struggled to justify that exorbitant fee and subsequently left in 2022, rejoining Juventus as a free agent, when his contract was up.
In September 2023, Pogba was provisionally suspended from playing after failing a doping test. A second sample tested in October 2023 confirmed the findings of the first test and Pogba was banned for four years.
Last October, Pogba's ban was reduced to 18 months, allowing him to resume training next month and play competitively again in March. Pogba's contract with Juventus was terminated by mutual consent on November 30.
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