One of the most surprising career paths in football may be headed for another surprising turn.
Paul Pogba he was banned this year positive test result for a prohibited substance and jointly terminated the contract at Juventus in November. He will be able to return to training from January and to matches from March.
Now, Manchester City have clearly emerged as a potential destination given Pep Guardiola’s interest in the former Manchester United The midfielder dates back to Pogba’s departure from Old Trafford in 2022.
From a four-year ban to a possible sensational comeback
Pogba was originally given a four-year ban from playing football. At the age of 31, his career as a top-flight footballer seemed to be coming to an end. However, his punishment was reduced on appeal and City’s sharp decline in form coincided with his imminent return.
In October, Pogba explained that he almost signed for Man City when he left Man United for the second time, but chose Juventus due to a complicated personal situation that derailed his career and made him prefer to leave Manchester altogether.
Guardiola has identified Pogba as the successor to captain Fernandinho. Now with Rodri Ballon d’Or winner With the long break due to injuries and City’s failures in both the Premier League and the Champions League, mutual interests between club and player could be unexpectedly revived.
Former Man City star Shaun Wright-Phillips is backing Pogba to return to Manchester for a third season, this time at the Etihad Stadium.
“You really can’t take away the talent that Paul Pogba has,” he said sportscasting.com in an exclusive interview.
“I think it’s wrong for people to just assume, ‘OK, he had a bad period, he just left as a player.’ He’s still quite young. I saw him, he still looks healthy and in good shape.
“I think if you can train him,” Wright-Phillips said, “the skills he has – if you get him to work and defend – the skills he will have in the future in terms of the number of passes he can play, goals , that he can score, or the skill that he can show, if he can get him to where he needs to be quickly, I think that will be a plus for many clubs in the Premier League.
“That would be huge. Paul Pogba can be an important player in any of the top clubs.
Massive is right. A successful return for Pogba anywhere would be a stunning comeback. A successful return to Manchester City would be a sensation.
Pogba knows what it takes to achieve such success. He is a quadruple Serie A champion with Juventus, a World Cup winner, and a Europa League winner with United.
This meant a trophy-laden run of seasons from 2012–13 to 2017–18. Getting back to winning ways would be a story for the ages.
