Paul Pogba's career in jeopardy following ban
Eight years ago, Paul Pogba appeared poised to join Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the upper echelon of superstar soccer royalty. He had the pedigree, the skill, the look and the transfer record-breaking contract to boot.
Eight years later, on Feb. 29, an Italian Court handed him a potentially career-ending four-year doping ban.
Had Pogba grown into the generational talent he seemed destined to become, this four-year ban would be jolting the sports world in a way reminiscent of Ben Johnson being stripped of his 100-meter gold at the 1988 Olympics or Victor Conte coming clean and implicating Barry Bonds and Marion Jones in the use of "the cream" and "the clear."
Rather than a shocking interruption, this banishment feels more like the inevitable, almost merciful coda to a career derailed and only limping forward as no graceful exists are available along the nonstop route connecting the edge of Elysium and the beginning of irrelevance.
Pogba's return to United began by living up to the hype generated by the record-breaking transfer it took to sign him. He scored the Europa League title-winning goal in his first year, then led them to an FA Cup final and the Champions League knockout rounds in his second.
Following his successful first two seasons at United, Pogba's fame reached its zenith at the 2018 World Cup. He played in all but two minutes of every meaningful match and scored a goal in the final as France took down Croatia to win their first World Cup since 1998.
Standing on Moscow's rain-soaked Luzhniki Stadium field after the final, Pogba danced and rejoiced with the trophy he was integral in winning. His ebullience looked fitting for the stakes it seemed to represent: the coronation of a new global soccer king.
Six years later, it's now clear that the soggy celebration in Moscow was no enthronement. It wasn't even the beginning of the end; it was merely the end.
His contract at United expired at the end of the 2021-22 season. He missed that summer's World Cup due to injury and then quietly signed back with Juventus on a free transfer.
Since returning to Italy, he's accrued just 224 minutes of playing time, and the only headlines he's generated have come from the bizarre and still unresolved case of alleged extortion involving his brother.
Plans to appeal his ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and an obligatory boilerplate denial of generalties and banalities have been released.
Short of sitting on a yet-to-be-aired extraordinary and provable exculpatory fact, it is unlikely the CAS will provide any relief. In 2021, current Manchester United keeper Andre Onana was able to prove that he accidentally ingested a banned substance legally prescribed to his post-partum wife, yet was still only given a three-month reprieve, seeing his ban reduced from 12 months to nine.
The sad reality is that his appeal is irrelevant. Look no further to where he was on the fateful day he submitted his tainted sample: on the bench, dressed and available, yet watching his team play as an unused substitute.
Pogba won't go down as some French Freddy Adu. His legend was about much more than promise or hype. His talent and charisma were exceptional and authentic until they disappeared completely.
And soon, it seems, so shall he.
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