Paul Pogba threw his bottle into the sea. With a clear message inside: “The reality is that I am a Juve player and I am preparing to play with Juve.I am willing to give up money to be able to play with Juve again, I want to come back with this club.“A clear, clear statement for the one whose suspension for doping has been reduced from four years to eighteen months and will end in March 2025. The 2018 world champion not only wants to become a high-level footballer again. But he counts do it well in Piedmont, where he is supposed to stay until 2026, the year his contract expires.
The problem is that this desire seems more one-sided than reciprocal. If the general staff of Bianconeri certainly appreciated his player’s statements, they are not likely to change anything. At least that’s what La Gazzetta dello Sport Thursday, daily in which “La Pioche” had given a major interview the day before. For the media with the pink pages, Juve “has no intention of changing position“. To the point that discussions for a possible termination of contract, which began several months ago, are still ongoing.
Motta talks about it in the past tense
“This was a great player, he hasn’t played in a long time“, noted Thiago Motta a few weeks ago. For the Juve technician, the midfielder is visibly part of the past. Not really part of the present. Even less of the future. Moreover, beyond his suspension, the club Piedmont player does not forget his injuries, his performance since his return (0 goals, 1 assist), the affair of the pre-World Cup 2022 operation and the 213 minutes on the clock between August 2022 and September 2023 (i.e. not even 3 cumulative matches).
“It sure hurts (to see Motta talking about it in the past tense). This means that I am finished, that I am no longer a footballer, that I have stopped my careerhe regretted in an interview with L’Equipe. I don’t think he meant it like that. He is the coach of Juventus today. I haven’t had the chance to meet him yet, to talk face-to-face with him. If I’m going to do it? Why not ? If it’s possible, yes. But I’m still suspended and there are legal things I can do and others I can’t do. Afterwards, I think we’ll talk. Whatever happens, I’m a Juve player. I don’t think about what he said. I continue my training and I want to become a football player again.”
Paul Pogba
Credit: Getty Images
“Pogba? We speak with those around him, he is a great player and he can still play. But between injuries and suspension, it’s been two years since he last did it. These are elements to take into account“, reacted for his part the managing director of Juve Maurizio Scanavino to The Press last week. Behind the scenes, the Old Lady still hopes to find an agreement to end the current lease.
For sporting reasons, already, since the profile of Pogba (31 years old) no longer really fits into the club’s new policy, rather based on youth and renewal. He is even at the antipodes. Without forgetting that the entire organization chart has changed, from president Andrea Agnelli to coach Massimiliano Allegri, two men who had worked for the “Pogback”.
“Pogba is one of the last players from the previous project, just look at the departures from the last transfer window: Chiesa, Szczesny, Alex Sandro, Rabiot…)“, recalled La Gazzetta dello Sportevoking “a new cycle” in total break with the recent past. And under the leadership of Thiago Motta, not really oriented towards making a place for “la Pioche”. The page has been turned. The chapter closed.
The unilateral agreement hypothesis
The financial aspect also weighs heavily in this matter. If Pogba said he was ready to make an effort, his salary, around 2,000 euros during his suspension, the minimum authorized, will increase to 8 million euros net (+ 2 bonus) next March. Amounts more truly in line with Turin policy. To say, Teun Koopmeiners and Douglas Luiz, the two most expensive recruits of the summer, do not exceed five million euros net per season. Only Dusan Vlahovic, who arrived in January 2022, is an exception: 8 million + 2.5 “loyalty” bonus for this season; 8 million + 4 bonuses in 2025-2026.
If, for the moment, Juve, whose last financial report presented a deficit of 200 million euros, maintains its desire to dialogue with Pogba’s entourage, it nevertheless has an ace up its sleeve. If the discussions were not successful, the club could then consider a unilateral break, which is within its rights in view of the suspension of its player, certainly reduced to 18 months but still existing.
“If there is an agreement, it will take place before the end of January, so that it allows the player to find a new adventure in preparation for his return to the field in March“, warned the Journal. His most likely destination? For the transalpine daily, there is no doubt: it is the MLS (United States). OM has also been cited in recent days as a possible rebound. Whatever his future team, Juve will happily leave his place.
