Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has allegedly been slapped with a four-year football ban following his failed drug test last August.

According to reports from La Repubblica, the ban came after the 30-year-old purportedly tested positive for testosterone post Juventus’s season opener against Udinese.

Despite Pogba’s legal team rejecting a plea deal and asserting that the substance was ingested inadvertently, the anti-doping prosecutor’s office in Italy remained unconvinced and imposed the substantial penalty.

Confirming the ban, popular sport journalist wrote on his X, “BREAKING: Paul Pogba has been banned from football for four years due to doping”.

Pogba has expressed plans to contest the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

This development marks a stunning turn of events for the once highly-regarded player, who was previously the world’s most expensive footballer following his £89m transfer to Manchester United in 2016.

Having clinched the World Cup with France in 2018, Pogba’s return to Old Trafford failed to replicate his earlier successes at Juventus.

Despite securing Europa League and League Cup victories with United, the club struggled to contend for Premier League titles during his tenure. In 2022,

Pogba departed United for Juventus on a free transfer, seeking to reignite his career, but encountered a string of injury setbacks during his initial season back in Turin.

Pogba’s situation parallels a past Serie A case involving Joao Pedro, who received a reduced suspension after inadvertently ingesting a diuretic.

However, Pogba’s request for a B-sample test yielded similar results, prompting Juventus to consider terminating his contract.