{"id":47814,"date":"2025-11-25T01:45:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T01:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=47814"},"modified":"2025-11-25T01:45:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T01:45:27","slug":"paul-pogba-makes-his-return-to-professional-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2025\/11\/25\/paul-pogba-makes-his-return-to-professional-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Pogba Makes His Return to Professional Football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">French World Cup winner Paul Pogba has returned to competitive football after more than two years away. He made his debut for AS Monaco in a Ligue 1 match against Stade Rennais FC on 22 November 2025, coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is like coming home,\u201d Pogba said. \u201cFootball isn\u2019t over for me.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Why He Was Away<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pogba\u2019s hiatus was caused by a combination of serious issues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>He last played a competitive match in September 2023 for Juventus FC. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In August 2023 he tested positive for a banned substance (DHEA\/testosterone metabolite) and was later banned for four years, a ban that was reduced on appeal to 18 months. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He also dealt with injuries and off-field troubles including a high-profile extortion case. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What This Means<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While his appearance was brief and Monaco lost 4-1, the significance is large:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>His return signals that he is cleared to play again following the doping suspension and contract termination. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For Monaco, it offers a high-profile boost and potential midfield strength if he regains fitness and form.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For fans, it marks the possible revival of one of football\u2019s most talented\u2014and controversial\u2014midfielders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Looking Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Questions remain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Can Pogba regain full match-fitness and deliver the levels he once showed at Juventus and Manchester United?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How will Monaco integrate him long-term given the time lost and reputation issues?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will he return to the French national team if his form merits it?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bottom Line<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paul Pogba\u2019s return to the pitch is real. After a long absence, he has taken the first step back into professional competition \u2014 offering hope of redemption, but also real challenges ahead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>French World Cup winner Paul Pogba has returned to competitive football after more than two years away. He made his debut for AS Monaco in a Ligue 1 match against Stade Rennais FC on 22 November 2025, coming on as a substitute in the 85th minute.&nbsp; \u201cThis is like coming home,\u201d Pogba said. \u201cFootball isn\u2019t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":47815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3295],"tags":[9306,6959,8348,5777,7960,9026,5247,6351,11525,492,10634,11252,115,8126,10481,7523,349,10535,12151,3108,36,5248],"class_list":["post-47814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-sport","tag-appeal","tag-as-monaco","tag-ban","tag-banned","tag-case","tag-fans","tag-football","tag-french","tag-injuries","tag-juventus","tag-lost","tag-manchester","tag-manchester-united","tag-match","tag-midfield","tag-monaco","tag-paul-pogba","tag-pogba","tag-suspension","tag-testosterone","tag-world","tag-world-cup"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47814"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47814\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47816,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47814\/revisions\/47816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}