Juventus slap Paul Pogba with one of the biggest pay cuts in sporting history after testing positive for doping
Paul Pogba has been slapped a massive pay cut by Juventus following his positive doping test. The said pay cut is one of the biggest across sports.
As per GOAL, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner's salary has been slashed from €873,000 per month to just €2000, a drop of 99.77%. Pogba tested positive for a second time for testosterone after his A-sample had tested postive.
The midfielder now faces the very real prospect of long-term disqualification and termination of his Juventus contract if proven guilty. The Bianconeri management has sent the player a notice of his dramatic salary reduction but hasn't taken extreme measures of contract termination yet.
As per clubs' collective bargaining agreement with the Italian Footballers Association, even disqualified players must be paid minimum wages of €2000 per month.
The high level of testosterone in Pogba's system was due to the presence of dehydroepiandresterone. He faces an immediate uncertain future at the club.
However, Calciomercato (as per Juvefc) reports that if he's able to demonstrate that it was a case of unintentional consumption, he could face a less severe punishment. That's because not all products are explicitly mentioned in a product's label at times.
Pogba, though, is waging a lone battle to clear his name, as Juve had not instructed him to ingest the substance.
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba faces uncertain future with France
Paul Pogba's cup of woes doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. After his B-sample tested positive for testosterone, Italy's national doping tribunal could now ban the player for four years if they prove that the ingestion was deliberate.
The Frenchman faces an immediate two-year ban. France manager Didier Deschamps has said that the 30-year-old faces a long road back to Les Bleus, for whom Paul Pogba hasn't played since March 2022 due to injury.
Deschamps said (as per Daily Mail via Calcio Mercato) that Pogba finds himself in a difficult situation, which started with his positive doping test, plunging his career into jeopardy.
"He finds himself in a complicated situation. He will defend himself. He will have to defend himself, this is part of a long procedure. It all started with the doping test. I don't know what tomorrow holds for him, but what's happening to him is sad for him.
'I'll not have a categorical or radical position. I don't know what his future will be like. It will take time. Even if he hasn't been with us for a while. I hope for him that he finds his smile again, the full possession of his means, that he will find the pitch again, but it will take time."
Paul Pogba has called for a counter analysis - as per Sky Sports - but faces a long road back to the sport.