Paul Pogba admits he nearly quit football over doping ban

Paul Pogba, the former Juventus midfield star, recently opened up about how close he came to hanging up his boots for good.

Initially slapped with a four-year ban for breaking anti-doping rules, the 32-year-old saw his punishment cut to 18 months a stretch he’s already completed. Now, he’s reflecting on the ordeal that almost broke his spirit.

“If I had received four years, I would have stopped playing football. I didn’t want to talk about it publicly, but that’s what I thought,” Pogba admitted.

“I would take the ball and play alone in the street. I was content with what I had. But I didn’t want to stay in Turin. In the morning, I would take my kids to school, and it was right next to the training ground – what a pain.”

“I didn’t understand. Why? They gave me the maximum sentence, and that meant they really didn’t listen to anything I was saying,” he added.

“Everything that happened to me changed me. I saw what real life is. It was like a complete cleansing. I suddenly aged ten years.”

With his ban behind him, Pogba’s name is moving around Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League as he plots his next move.