Paul Pogba costs Juventus more than 500,000 euros a week. Photo: Getty Images/Daniele Badolato
Paul Pogba has become the most sought-after figure in modern football without ever coming close to becoming its greatest player, which tells a strange story about the state of the game in the 21st century — although nothing compared to that what happened next in the turbulent life of this young man.
His four-year ban by the Italian anti-doping agency TNA is another surprising twist in a story that is not yet over. He will take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where there is a good prospect of some mitigation of the sentence and preservation of interest in the life of a man who has become an incredible brand marketer, content producer, and social media king. As for football, he has hardly played in the last two seasons and there is a possibility that he will never do so again.
Pogba will be fighting the fight of his life on the court in Lausanne after testing positive last August, but the reality is he has been battling the injury for much longer. What will remain of the footballer by the time he returns remains a matter of debate.
The fall is all the more surprising given that the man who had the whole world in the palm of his hand is the same man. who did not know the true nature of the supplements he was taking.
Within a few years, Pogba seemed to have conquered football. Not in terms of performance, which was mixed in the six years that followed his return to Manchester United in 2016, when he was the most expensive player in UK transfer history. But in terms of what the game wanted from its stars. He was skillfully marketed by his agent, the late Mino Raiola, who convinced Ed Woodward and the Glazers to spend £89 million on a player the club never knew how to use.
He arrived at Old Trafford in a way no player had ever arrived at Old Trafford, lauded on the club's social media, fawned over like a prodigal son and presented as part footballer, part global commercial conquest. The number of fights, United emphasized, was excellent. Global partners were delighted. When Pogba and Jose Mourinho clashed two years later, the club chose Pogba as their coach.
Yet here was a player accustomed to simply getting what he wanted. German sportswear giant Adidas signed him to a 10-year contract and created a custom «PP» clothing line for their man. When they paired him with their biggest non-sports supporters — Stormzy, Pharrell Williams, Stella McCartney — it seemed Pogba was the man of the moment. Just a new streak of color in his hair could break the Internet for a moment.
Pogba has had more success in France than he did with Manchester United Photo: AFP/ANTHONY DEVLIN
He has been a conduit for major brands like Adidas and United to connect with an elusive young audience. The phenomenon, who casually danced in an expensive production with Stormzy, while filming himself unwrapping a pair of Pharrell-designed Predators sneakers in the dressing room. His performances on the pitch — from winning the World Cup with France to overall mediocrity with United — often seemed unimportant. He was a bankable star in a changing digital world that marketing executives were betting on.
At times it seemed as if even Pogba himself didn't understand how his luck had come about. He was simply a cheerful young man who liked what many of his contemporaries were doing, and perhaps this, combined with his undoubted talent, was part of his charm.
Details of how Pogba tested positive in August last year are sketchy, although it is understood that at some point last year he was told — based on tests he took independently of Juventus — that he had a low level testosterone. It is clear that his case was that he trusted persons not associated with the club who assured him that the DHEA supplement would not violate doping rules. In addition, before the positive test after the game against Udinese, he had negative tests. A more complete TNA verdict is expected in due course.
However, he is ultimately responsible for his own body. Pogba knows there will be some sort of suspension. The question is how long, and beyond that, what the Pogba brand might look like in what remains of his playing career, if anything at all.
Pogba's aura has shone a little less in recent years. When he left United as a free agent in 2022, he had no takers in the Premier League. His monumental fallout with one of his two older brothers, twin Matthias, became a painful family saga played out in public. Pogba's positive test came at the lowest level of his playing career. He underwent knee surgery in September 2022, making his costly return to Juventus a disaster for both parties.
When Pogba turned 30 on March 15 last year, he had played just two games into the 2022-23 season. He managed just 10 appearances in total and missed France's entire defense at the 2022 World Cup.
For the club, a four-year ban looks like a way out of what is understood to be €500,000 a year. A week's contract (£428,000) for a player who barely plays. Although Pogba issued a statement shortly after the suspension was announced, Juventus said nothing. Adidas appears to be backing their man for now, although Pogba will be realistic enough to know things could go either way.
One suspects there's another step behind this: a comeback, successful or otherwise no, it would simply be too big a media event to ignore, a documentary starring one of the biggest streamers. He will always have this 2018 World Cup with him, it is a huge achievement in any player's career. But just as Pogba's rise seemed effortless, the right man in the right era, doing what came naturally, his fall was a seismic act of carelessness.
Свежие комментарии