‘2018 World Cup winner’ Pogba confirmed to be doping… athlete’s life in danger

Paul Pogba (Juventus), who was considered the best midfielder in the world, fell into the biggest crisis of his career.

Italy’s ANSA news agency reported on the 6th (local time) that Pogba tested positive for testosterone in a backup sample.

When conducting a doping test, two urine samples, A and B, are collected to increase accuracy. Pogba tested positive in a doping test conducted immediately after this season’s Serie A home opener against Udinese on August 20.

Accordingly, Pogba requested to test the B sample as well, but the result was consistently positive.

Testosterone, well known as a male hormone, improves endurance when artificially injected. It is one of the representative banned substances designated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

‘Non-endogenous testosterone metabolites’ were found in Pogba’s urine. This means that artificially injected testosterone, not normally produced testosterone, was found in Pogba’s body.

If Pogba is ultimately found guilty of doping, he will face a ban of at least two years and up to four years. Pogba, who returned to Italy’s Juventus from Manchester United (England) ahead of last season, suffered a knee meniscus injury in late July last year, just two weeks after his return.

In order to help France’s challenge of winning the World Cup for the second time in a row, he postponed the surgery and chose rehabilitation, but ended up going on the operating table in September of the same year, and was unable to participate in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. In addition to his knee, he suffered injuries to his groin, abs, and hamstrings (the muscles behind his thighs), which kept him virtually out of the line for an entire season. Last season, Pogba only played in 10 games in a Juventus uniform, all of which he played as a substitute.스포츠토토

This season, he tested positive for doping from the beginning and faced the risk of a long-term ban. There is a high possibility that Juventus will be conscious of public opinion and release Pogba.

Pogba, a Frenchman of Guinean descent, was called a ‘genius midfielder’ due to his good physique, game management ability, and passing and shooting ability.

When transferring from Juventus to Manchester United in 2016, the highest transfer fee ever paid at the time was 150 million euros (about 214.2 billion won).

He also left a significant mark on his national team, including playing a key role in France’s victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It was Pogba who scored the winning goal in the final against Croatia in this tournament.