Paul Pogba's four year ban for testosterone will effectively end his competitive career. Now don't get me wrong, in 4 years, he'll latch onto another team that wants to sell some tickets. If I had to bet money, I'd say MLS or RSL will be lined up to sign him a year before his suspension ends.
But he was the next big thing right up until 2018. From the time he scored one of the penalty kicks in the 2013 U-20 World Cup Final and winning the Golden Boy Award until France's 2018 World Cup Championship, few players in the history of the sport have had such success and upward trajectory by the age of 25.
In the 2018 Ballon d'Or, Pogba came in 15th in the voting. But more importantly, other than countrymen Raphael Varane and Mbappé, he was the youngest of those 15.
2019 should have been the biggest year in his career, but he clashed with Coach Jose Mourinho before his firing. On the pitch, it was one of his best statistical seasons, but Manchester United crashed out of all Cup chases by the QuarterFinals. Man U finished 6th in the Premier League that season.
I watched some of those games that season. Some games, Pogba was clearly the best player on the field. Some games, Pogba was invisible. Despite good numbers, he fell out of the Ballon d'Or voting totals.
Soon injuries and off-the-field issues started to fill the tabloids. Pogba sulked and forced his way back to childhood team Juventus. Once back in Italy, lingering injuries turned into prolonged injures...and "mental problems."
And I didn't even mention that he was Blackmailed by his own brother. I still contend that France would have won the 2022 World Cup if Pogba wasn't injured.
The Daily Mail gleefully trumpeted the end of Pogba's career, reminding everyone that United's own coach had called him a "virus."
Me, on the other hand, I still remember the glimpses of greatness that I used to root for. The doping scandal has made me sad. Very sad.
End of article.
