Paul Pogba ‘fails drug test following Juventus’ opening game of season’ and could face four-year ban if found guilty

pstrongFORMER Manchester United star Paul Pogba has reportedly failed a drugs test./strong/p pAnd he could face a four-year ban if found guilty./p figure id=attachment_23907035 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/paul-labile-pogba-juventus-looks-842265279.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23907035 width=960 height=639 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figurePaul Pogba has reportedly tested positive for testosterone[/caption] pa aria-label=Corriere Della Serra (opens in a new tab) href=https://www.corriere.it/sport/calcio/serie-a/23_settembre_11/paul-pogba-positivo-doping-juventus-7b039008-50b2-11ee-a355-a30027630bcd.shtml target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenerCorriere Della Serra/a claims traces of testosterone were discovered in a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/paul-pogba/Pogba#8217;s/a system following a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1362318/juventus/Juventus#8217;/a first game of the new season./p pThe ex-a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1196656/manchester-united/Man United/a midfielder, 30, was an unused sub in his side#8217;s 3-0 win against Udinese last month./p pNeither Pogba or Juventus are yet to comment./p pTestosterone is a hormone which can increase muscle strength and is found in various over-the-counter products at pharmacies./p pIt occurs naturally in men. Tests on athletes look for synthetic forms of testosterone in their systems./p pIt#8217;s said Pogba now has three days to provide a sample for a counter-analysis./p pIf found guilty of doping, a href=https://twitter.com/_gifn/status/1701267598292423026?s=46amp;t=UxUf36We6VF2VWOS9A9GxQseveral Italian news outlets/a all claim Pogba faces a ban of up to two years./p pAnd if a tribunal finds him guilty of taking the product intentionally, the ban could last up to four years./p pa href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/19158562/juventus-paul-pogba-transfer-man-utd-wages/Pogba rejoined former side Juventus/a in a free transfer last summer following the expiration of his Man United contract./p pBut injuries limited him to just ten appearances in all competitions./p pHe#8217;s featured twice from the bench this term since sitting out the Udinese win./p pPogba#8217;s last appearance came earlier this month in Juventus#8217; 2-0 win at Empoli./p pHowever, boss Max Allegri claimed afterwards that the French World Cup winner had suffered a fresh back injury./p pHe said: #8220;Pogba felt a pain in the back, we#8217;ll see what the exams say. Too bad because it [Pogba#8217;s performance] went well.#8221;/p pEarlier this week, Pogba told a href=https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/9/10/paul-pogba-france-football-racism-police-violence target=_blank aria-label=Al Jazeera (opens in a new tab) rel=noreferrer noopenerAl Jazeera/a that he had been considering retirement following an a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/19640866/paul-pogba-brother-man-utd-extortion/alleged extortion plot involving his brother Mathias./a/p pPogba said: #8220;Money changes people. … It can break up a family. It can create a war./p p#8220;Sometimes I was just by myself thinking, #8216;I don#8217;t want to have money anymore. I just don#8217;t want to play anymore#8217;./p !--googleoff: all-- blockquote class=article__quote div class=article__quote-copy theme__before-color theme__after-color pI want to make them eat their words. I want to show them I#8217;m not weak/p cite class=article__quote-credit theme__copy-color span class=quote-creditPaul Pogba/span /cite /div /blockquote !--googleon: all-- p#8220;I just want to be with normal people, so they will love me for me – not for the fame, not for the money. Sometimes it#8217;s tough.#8221;/p pPogba also said: #8220;I want to make them eat their words. I want to show them I#8217;m not weak. They can talk bad about me, I will never give up.#8221;/p pPogba started his Premier League career at Man United in 2012 but made just three appearances before joining Juventus for free that same year./p pHe instantly became a smash hit in Turin, winning four Serie A titles in as many years./p pPogba was then re-signed by United for a then-club record fee of £86million in 2016./p pBut he failed to live up to expectations under managers like Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, winning just a Europa League and Carabao Cup./p pAnd after 226 games, Pogba returned to Juventus in 2022 on another freebie./p pHe has since played just 12 times during his second spell with the Italians, suffering various injuries to his knee, groin, thigh and hamstring./p pThe biggest success of Pogba#8217;s career came with France#8217;s national side./p pHe played a key role in their 2018 World Cup triumph, forging a fine midfield partnership with ex-Chelsea star N#8217;Golo Kante./p pHowever, the last of Pogba#8217;s 91 caps came in March last year./p pAnd he failed to make Didier Deschamps#8217; squad for France#8217;s unsuccessful World Cup defence in Qatar./p