PAUL POGBA DRIVEN BY ANGER TO RETURN BETTER FROM DOPING BAN

 

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Paul Pogba has warned he will return to football "even better" from his ban for taking a prohibited substance, stating that he is driven by "anger" at his absence.

The 2018 World Cup winner is set to restart his career in March 2025 after seeing his ban for taking DHEA, a testosterone-enhancing supplement, reduced from four years to 18 months.

"For sure. It's going to be a new Pogba," he said when asked by ESPN if he can reach the heights of his peak despite the enforced break from the sport. "That's definitely for sure. And in the positive way, like I said, with more hunger, with more determination.

"I feel like a kid that just want to be professional again, that never signed professional. So this is the anger I have. That's what drives me. And I will do everything to come back at the level I was before and even better. Why not?"

Pogba, who told ESPN that he considered retiring before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced the severity of his ban, said he is determined to prove his fitness after injuries blighted his latter years at Manchester United and his return to Juventus.

After rejoining the Serie A side in 2022, Pogba managed just 161 minutes in 10 appearances in all competitions in the 2022-23 season as he was affected by knee, hamstring and groin problems.

"When you're injured mentally you probably get injured also physically," the 31-year-old said. "So one of the important things was to clean all that and have only positive energy around me, and obviously by being professional, by doing the right thing -- you're not 18 anymore for sure.

"So you have to take care of yourself and I want to dedicate all this time that I have and for the next year to dedicate on obviously what I love the most and to be at the level I want to be."

Pogba also said he is intent looking at football in a different light after nearly seeing his livelihood abruptly ended.

"When they take something from you that you love so much and that's when you appreciate it the most," he said. "So I see football totally different now, and I will enjoy every moment that I will have until the end of my career.

"Because I see [the ban as] a test, I've tested something like what would happen at the end of your career when you don't play anymore. So I just want to appreciate it, enjoy it and make people enjoy it."

Pogba and his entourage are holding contract termination talks with Juventus ahead of his planned return to football next March.

- Julien Laurens, Correspondent