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Former Manchester United star Paul Pogba made his much-anticipated return to a football pitch for AS Monaco last night.
United career
The 2018 World Cup winner played for United between 2009-2012 and later 2016-2022.
He played 226 times for the Red Devils, scoring 39 goals.
Ban
The midfielder left United in the summer of 2022 after his contract expired and joined another of his former sides Juventus on a free transfer.
Injury ruined his 2022-2023 season and then he was controversially banned at the very start of the 2023-2024 season.
He was provisionally suspended when non-endogenous testosterone was found in his test results.
On 29 February 2024, he received a four-year ban for doping from the Italian Anti-Doping National Tribunal but after an appeal, this was reduced to 18 months in October of the same year.
Monaco signing
After much speculation to where Pogba would return, he finally signed for Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.
The French side have been very careful with his return to senior football but he finally got the chance to step onto a football pitch after 779 days.
Pogba entered the stage with AS Monaco 4-0 down at Rennes in the 85th minute.
He completed 93% of his pass attempts and won his only tackle during limited time on the pitch.
The 32 year old also made one interception and recovered the ball three times.
He demonstrated a glimpse of his exceptional talent with a long-raking pass that perfectly picked out the Monaco winger in space to attack the Rennes defence.
His former United teammate Bruno Fernandes was clearly pleased with his return and posted “Pogback” on his Instagram feed.
Commenting after the match Pogba claimed, “I was disappointed to lose this match. It’s Paul Pogba’s return, but I play for Monaco, and I don’t like losing.”
He also added, “I was really happy on one hand, but on the other, I was disappointed with the result and what we did on the pitch. It touched me, the reception. Seeing the crowd stand up and applaud, I wasn’t expecting that. A big thank you to the fans who personally supported me.”
Paul Pogba stats vs Rennes
StatValue
Goals0
Assists0
Expected assists (xA)0
Key passes0
Crosses (accurate)0 (0)
Accurate passes14/15 (93%)
Passes in opposition half (acc.)5/6 (83%)
Passes in own half (acc.)9/9 (100%)
Long balls (accurate)1/2 (50%)
Total shots0
Shots on target0
Shots blocked0
Touches18
Dribbles (successful)0 (0)
Possession lost2
Tackles (won)1 (1)
Interceptions1
Clearances0
Blocked shots0
Recoveries3
Ground duels (won)1 (1)
Aerial duels (won)0 (0)
Dribbled past0
Source: Sofascore
Pogback few min. Camo As far as he is fit ‘advantage France’ pic.twitter.com/0Sgea9Fcjr
— Steph’s (@Queenstey) November 22, 2025
Featured image Ed Sykes via Getty Images
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