MV: €100m to €0m 

Paul Pogba will return to football next season after almost two years since his last professional appearance and join Ligue 1 side Monaco. The club made the deal official on Saturday. After playing for Juventus against Empoli in September 2023, Pogba was suspended for failing a drug test in August and the former France international was originally banned for four-years in February 2024. The ban, however, was reduced to 18 months at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and he was permitted to train from January, with his ban lifted in March.

Juventus and Pogba agreed to a mutual termination last November and the 32-year-old has been on the lookout for a club since. Speculation raged that Pogba could head for the United States or Saudi Arabia but he has now joined Monaco. The midfielder has agreed a two-year deal with the Ligue 1 club. Pogba has joined Monaco but will he return anywhere near his best after almost two years out?

It’s almost impossible to determine how long Pogba will require to reach full match fitness after so long without playing. At his best, Pogba was one of the leading midfielders in the world but his return to Juventus was severely impacted by injuries before his ban. As the graphic below illustrates, the midfielder played just 12 games in just over a year after returning from Manchester United and missed 57 games through injury.

But Pogba will aim to revive his career when he joins Monaco and he will feature in the Champions League after the principality finished third last season. The midfielder will play in Ligue 1 for the first time in his career and join a talented array of youngsters at Monaco but will Pogba enjoy a successful return? “There is widespread excitement in France about Pogba signing for Monaco,” said Joachim Durand, Ligue 1 expert at Transfermarkt. “Everyone is hyped, or at least intrigued. Personally, I'm rather sceptical. I want to believe in it, but at 32 and after such a long absence, I have a lot of doubts. But the mentality with which he seems to be arriving gives me cause for optimism, when he says that he feels like a youngster arriving at a training centre.”

Although it may appear unrealistic at this stage, Pogba will be motivated by securing a return to the France squad for the World Cup next summer and Durand believes it’s possible. He said: “As far as a return to the French national team is concerned, I think he has the cards in his hand. In theory, Didier Deschamps holds him in very high regard. He undoubtedly knows that a player like him is rare, both on and off the pitch. In practice, Deschamps has shown that he will not give up on his soldiers, as shown by Kanté's return for Euro 2024. And Monaco are playing in the Champions League, which is important to Deschamps. He considers it to be the competition that comes closest to international level. So if Pogba performs well, he'll be back.”