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Tag: Pogba

  • Pogba provisionally suspended after failing drugs test

    Pogba provisionally suspended after failing drugs test

    Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been provisionally suspended from playing after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone in his system.

    Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal (Nado) said Pogba was tested after Juve’s 3-0 win at Udinese on 20 August.

    The 30-year-old France international, an unused substitute, was randomly selected for post-match drug testing.

    Read Also: Juventus under pressure to terminate Pogba’s contract

    If found guilty of doping, he could face a ban of between two and four years.

    Juventus said in a statement: “Juventus Football Club announces that today, 11 September, 2023, the footballer Paul Labile Pogba received a precautionary suspension order from the National Anti-Doping Tribunal following the results of tests carried out on 20 August, 2023.

    “The club reserves the right to consider the next procedural steps.”

  • Pogba, Shaw give Man Utd winning start against Leicester City

    Manchester United survived a late scare against Leicester City to begin their Premier League campaign with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford last night.

    Paul Pogba’s third-minute penalty and Luke Shaw’s first professional goal earned the Red Devils three points which came under threat in stoppage time through Jamie Vardy’s reply.

    Pogba’s inclusion from the start was a bit of a surprise considering his lack of pre-season in the aftermath of France’s World Cup triumph, and Mourinho even but the captain’s armband on the midfielder in the absence of Antonio Valencia.

    When the Red Devils were given a second-minute penalty for handball against Daniel Amartey, who leaned into the bouncing ball with his arm, Pogba pulled rank to take the spot kick ahead of Alexis Sanchez and lift it confidently above Kasper Schmeichel.

    The Foxes responded well and the left-wing tandem of Ben Chilwell and Demarai Gray caused United problems. The latter supplied Kelechi Iheanacho on 15 minutes, although the Nigerian was flagged offside before shooting inches wide of the post.

    James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira were the two debutants in Leicester’s XI and they combined for the best equalising chance of the first half. The playmaker signed from Norwich City was teed up 15 yards out but saw his right-footed shot strongly pushed away by David de Gea.

    Shaw fired the Foxes a warning shot on the stroke of the break as he exchanged a one-two with Juan Mata before cutting inside onto his right foot to strike low at Schmeichel.

  • Pogba, Ibrahimovic To Return Saturday for Newcastle Clash – Official

    Pogba, Ibrahimovic To Return Saturday for Newcastle Clash – Official

    Manchester United fans could be in for a treat as Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are in line for a return to the Old Trafford squad.

    Manchester United will host Newcastle United on Saturday evening.

    Club-record signing Pogba played just four Premier League games for United before being sidelined with a hamstring injury in September, while Ibrahimovic has been out since suffering knee ligament damage at the end of last season.

    United manager Jose Mourinho has previously suggested that the game against the Magpies will be too soon for Pogba to return but according to The Sun, the Frenchman has made better progress than first thought and is now back in contention.

    The newspaper also claims that Ibrahimovic, who was expected to remain out until Christmas, has been making steady progress and could be named on the bench this weekend.

    After a strong start to the season, United have taken just four points from their last four Premier League fixtures and now sit eight points behind early leaders Manchester City in the table.

  • Mourinho says he has no idea when Pogba will be fit

    Mourinho says he has no idea when Pogba will be fit

    Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said he has “no idea’’ when record signing Paul Pogba will be fit again after the French midfielder suffered a hamstring injury.

    The France player had sustained the injury in a UEFA Champions League tie against Basel early in September.

    The 24-year-old, who cost 89 million pounds last year —- a world record at the time —- played only a handful of games this season before being sidelined.

    “Paul is not here, I don’t know when he comes back, when he’s available, I’ve no idea,” Mourinho told a news conference ahead of his team’s Saturday’s visit to Huddersfield Town.

    He hopes Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return by the end of the year, however.

    The Portuguese also has better news of Marcus Rashford, who is fit in spite of coming off during the midweek Champions League win over Benfica with a knee injury.

    United will be looking to make history by keeping an eighth clean sheet in the opening nine league games of the season.

    No other team has achieved that in the top division of English football.

    Mourinho was criticised for a defensive approach in last weekend’s dull goalless draw at Liverpool.

    Stoke City are the only side to score, in a 2-2 draw, against Mourinho’s team in eight Premier League games.

    Earlier in the season, United appeared to be recapturing the adventurous style historically associated with the club.

    They won 4-0 four times against lowly opposition but have since been outscored by neighbours Manchester City, who now lead them by two points at the top of the table.

    The game at Huddersfield is the first meeting between the clubs since 1972 and the Yorkshire side have not won one since 20 years before that, in March 1952.

    After a good start, Huddersfield have not won a Premier League game for two months, but Mourinho insisted that his team will know what to expect from a newly promoted club.

    “We are silly if we don’t know what is waiting for us,” he said.

    “Everybody knows the Premier League and knows what it means to play against newly promoted teams.

    “Every team in the Premier League is good and thinks they can win every match against every opponent.

    “The players will be buzzing and the supporters will be happy to have a big club playing in their stadium.”(Reuters/NAN)

  • Man Utd Star Pogba ‘Learning to Boil an Egg’

    Man Utd Star Pogba ‘Learning to Boil an Egg’

    Manchester United star Paul Pogba is learning to cook for himself – including boiling an egg!

     

    The Sun says the French midfielder, 24, is being taught culinary skills by his personal chef.

    The Italian mum-of-one has been brought over to cook Pogba’s meals but is also teaching him to boil or scramble eggs and fry meat properly.

    She is also understood to be teaching the £300,000-a-week star recipes for more complex dishes.

    A source said: “Paul’s chef cooks traditional Italian food which Paul loves but now she’s giving him the culinary skills so he can get by when she’s not around! “

    She’s settling in with her family and Paul’s loving having her there to cook his food.

    “Plus she can now pass on tips and improve his kitchen skills which are basic at best!”

  • Pogba ruled out of EPL, France games with hamstring injury

    Pogba ruled out of EPL, France games with hamstring injury

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the France international pulled up in the second half of United’s Europa League win over FC Rostov on Thursday and had to be replaced by Marouane Fellaini.

    The 24-year-old is also expected to miss France’s matches against Luxembourg and Spain later this month.

    United boss Jose Mourinho could not say how much longer Pogba would be out.

    Asked whether he would be out for around three weeks, Mourinho replied: “Yeah. I don’t know for sure, but for sure, no Middlesbrough and no national team.”

    Pogba, the world’s most expensive player, has provided seven goals and five assists in 41 matches for United this season, but has been criticised for his recent performances.

    Before the match, Mourinho defended his player by saying: “I feel that the world is losing values and I am scared about the level of envy coming in. It is not Paul’s fault that he gets 10 times the money some players did in the past.”

    Dutchman Daley Blind also went off in the match with what looked like concussion, but no news was given on the extent of his problem.

  • Pogba battle brother in Europa clash

    Pogba battle brother in Europa clash

     

    This week looks set to be one which could split the Pogba family down the middle, as brother prepares to battle brother on the football pitch.

    Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba is preparing to take on his brother Florentin, who plays for French side Saint-Etienne, in the Europa League on Thursday.

    Perhaps knowing how divisive the game could be, the world’s most expensive player has displayed a show of family unity in a social media video with his mum, Yeo.

    Pogba is known for coming up with a series of elaborate handshakes as celebrations, choreographing them along with United team mates such as Jesse Lingard, Eric Bailly and Antonio Valencia.

    However this video is the first one he has devised with a member of his family, captioned ‘When Ma’s in town’.

    The experienced handshaker has come up with a simple, entry-level version for his mum – after some limbering up and finger waggling, they go in for an upward handshake, with the momentum seeing both Paul and Yeo ending up with fingers and arms pointed skywards.

    There are unlikely to be any handshakes between Pogbas on Thursday however, except for the pre- and post-match courtesies between Paul and Florentin.

    The Pogbas will be the first siblings to face each other at Old Trafford since Rio and Anton Ferdinand met in 2012.

    Florentin 26 , the older sibling by three years – plays at centre or left back for the Ligue 1 side, who are enjoying a strong season and currently sit fifth in the table.

    He has been able to enjoy his football under much less pressure than Paul, who moved in a £89million transfer from Juventus to Old Trafford last summer, returning for a second spell in Manchester.

  • Leicester 0-3 Man Utd Ndidi made Pogba a passenger – Neville

    Leicester 0-3 Man Utd Ndidi made Pogba a passenger – Neville

    Manchester United legend Gary Neville has saluted the performances of Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi despite the 0-3 loss suffered by Leicester City in the hands of Neville’s former club Manchester United.
    Neville, who was in the studio as a pundit during the course of the game, praised the Nigerian for keeping the world most expensive player Paul Pogba silent for the duration of the game.
    Ndidi, who was voted Leicester City man of the match by the BBC, made a good impression on the former Valencia boss, who described his performance as near perfect.
    “I can’t fault his (Ndidi) performance, he was very big in the game. He made Pogba a passenger in the middle. The boy is good in tackles and he is not afraid of running with the ball either”, Neville said.
    “He got Pogba booked and was fouled severally, that said I can’t remember when he fouled any opponent. He did well despite how poor his team were on the day.”

  • Pogba is first EPL player to have twitter emoji

    Pogba is first EPL player to have twitter emoji

     
    Manchester United star Paul Pogba made history on Friday afternoon by becoming the first player in Premier League history to get his very own Twitter emoji.
    An image of the £89million summer signing from Juventus can now be activated on the social media platform by adding ‘#pogba’ to any tweet from now until Manchester United’s game against Leicester City on February 5th.
    Twitter have created the bespoke Pogba portrait ahead of one of the biggest ties of the Premier League season so far — Manchester United vs Liverpool — and the club’s 9.8 million followers are being urged to show their support by using it before, during and after Sunday’s clash.
    Those same fans have also been told to keep a close eye on Manchester United’s official Twitter page during the match as something special has been lined up if and when Pogba finds the back of the net against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
    Liverpool travel to Old Trafford on Sunday to play what could be a hugely important match in the race for the Premier League title. Manchester United could extend their winning streak to 10 games while the Reds will hope to recover from an EFL Cup semi-final defeat to Southampton.
    Pogba said: ‘I am happy and thankful for this opportunity and I look forward to emojing! Let’s have fun at #pogba.’
    The Manchester United midfielder is one of the most recognisable sports stars in the world
    Followed by over 130 million people across all major platforms, Manchester United are the most connected football club in the Premier League and also have the most visited official website of any club in the world.

  • Pogba: I am ready to work harder

    Pogba: I am ready to work harder

    Manchester United confirmed it has broken the world transfer record to re-sign Pogba for a fee of £89million.

    United released the first part of Pogba’s interview with in-house channel MUTV. In it Paul Pogba talks about his former days at Old Trafford, who he spoke to about returning and his message for the fans…

    What thoughts come into your head when you think back to the Under 18s here, winning the Youth Cup and breaking into the first team?

    When I first came, I remember when I was at school at the academy. They used to come and drop us. I had this picture of my training. I saw Warren Joyce, I always remember the training I had with him, the changing room, the canteen where we eat, just the same and I was thinking about it before. It’s like a picture, I had my picture… it’s just something I cannot explain, it’s crazy. I just feel happy. There’s no words, to be honest, there’s no words. Just happiness. And I just can’t wait to start playing with my new team. It doesn’t look like it’s my new team, it’s just like I left this team and now I’ve come back. It’s just a great feeling to be honest.

    We’ve missed you here on MUTV – we enjoyed having you here the first time. How did your experiences of being on MUTV regularly set up you?

    I started on MUTV. My first interview was here at United. So now I come back and feel like I’m doing my old interview – I’m just taller, bigger, older. And I’m just enjoying it.

    You’re signing for a very successful manager with a big personality, so how important was he in your decision to come here?

     First of all, I spoke with a lot of players [who played under him] when he was at Madrid – I spoke with [Alvaro] Morata, [Raphael] Varane – and they all told me he’s the coach for me; he will make me improve a lot and make me work harder. I feel this. I spoke with him a few times and he gave me energy, he gave me positivity. So I was thinking ‘why not?’ I’m sure he can make me improve and make me a better player and a better person.

     It’s been a big journey for you over the last six or seven years but you’re still very young in a footballing sense, so what do you feel you can you achieve in your career?

     

    First of all, win the league for the first time with United, because I hadn’t won the league when I left. The Champions League, of course, and personally, one of my dreams is to win the Ballon d’Or. That will come with time hopefully but first the Premier League – I’ve never done it.

    This move means you’re reunited with people like Jesse Lingard, who you played with in the FA Youth Cup-winning team. Have you kept in touch with those guys?

    Always we kept talking – I’ve just kept in touch with him. I’m very happy for him and what he’s doing, very proud of him, because he just keeps it up. I know he went on loan, he came back, he went on loan again, but it was just Jesse Lingard scoring goals, as always. So I’m very happy for him. I see Sam Johnstone too, and Will Keane and some other players who went away. We just keep in touch and I’m very happy for them.

    The fans are excited to have you here, so do you have a message for them?

    I’m back and I can’t wait to make them happy, to show them that I’m still Paul Pogba but in a different way, and that I came here not to joke but to make them happy and feel like we can win the league. That’s why I came here.