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Paul Pogba has credited former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the inspirations behind his football comeback following a lengthy doping ban.
During his second stint at Juventus, the Frenchman received an initial four-year suspension from Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal in February 2024, after elevated levels of testosterone were discovered in his system following a drugs test.
Pogba’s ban was reduced to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in October 2024 as his ingestion of the banned substance that raised his testosterone levels was deemed unintentional.
Pogba signed for Monaco as a free agent last summer, completed his return to first-team action in late November and subsequently made three appearances prior to the winter break.
The 2018 World Cup winner was recently the recipient of the Best Comeback Award at the 2025 Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai to honour his return and thanked Ronaldo during his acceptance speech for providing him with inspiration.
Before expressing his gratitude to Ronaldo, Pogba was quick to thank his family for their help on his comeback trail.
“It wasn’t easy. It was a very important moment for me, in my life, to see what really, the people that were really there for you, the people that really love you when you are outside the shiny moment,” Pogba told the audience at the ceremony.
“This award means a lot, for me and for my wife … we’ve gone through so much together. She helped me a lot, and my kids kept me smiling.”
Pogba then turned his attention to Ronaldo, who was in attendance, enthusing: “Cristiano, you are here, you have inspired all of us as a soccer player. You did this for the next generation. Big thank you, Cristiano.”
The 31-year-old played alongside Ronaldo on 20 occasions for Manchester United during the 2021–22 season, after which Pogba departed for Turin as a free agent.
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