Former Manchester United star Paul Pogba has revealed his incredible decision to reject a move to arch foes Manchester City in 2022.
Pogba opened up on a range of subjects, as he aims to make a return to football, following a reduction on his ban for failing a doping test in February.
Following a lengthy battle, the Court of Arbitration for Sport accepted Pogba’s explanation of his ingestion of a banned substance as “not intentional”.
His four-year suspension was subsequently cut to 18 months, effective from September 2023, meaning he could be eligible for a competitive return in March 2025.
As he prepares to re-join training with the Juventus squad, Pogba has spoken on his relief at being given a fresh chance to revive his career in Turin.
“I am not a cheater, I am someone who loves my sport and loves the game. I don’t like to cheat, I like to win fairly”, as per an exclusive interview with Sky Sports.
“My mission is clear. I would love to be back on the pitch! Any pitch. First with Juventus, I want to start training again with my teammates.”
Man City interest in Pogba
Pogba was also asked about his hopes to return to the French national team and his 2022 switch to Juventus in a separate interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, plus a bold claim about City.
“I watch Man United and I still have teammates there. They are still one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“The story on Man City is also true. Yes, I turned down Pep Guardiola’s approach to accept Juventus’ proposal. That’s true.”
Players crossing the Manchester red and blue divide is not uncommon since the start of the Premier League with Peter Schmeichel, Carlo Tevez and Owen Hargreaves amongst those to swap from United to City.
However, Pogba crossing that threshold would surely have triggered a backlash from United fans, following his mixed spell with the Red Devils from 2016 to 2022.
United paid a then world record £89m ($116m) to re-sign their former academy player from Juventus, but six seasons only yielded one UEFA Europa League and an EFL Cup title, as injuries and apathy dominated his final months at the club.
