Juventus to ‘tear up Paul Pogba’s £130k-a-week contract’ if he is banned for failing a drugs test

Juventus could reportedly tear up Paul Pogba’s £130,000-a-week contract if he is banned for failing a drugs test.

The France midfielder, 30, has been provisionally suspended and could be banned for up to four years after testing positive for testosterone.

The positive test was reported to have occurred after Juve’s Serie A fixture against Udinese on August 20, a game in which he did not play.

Having been suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal on an initial precautionary basis, Pogba had three days from Monday to request a B sample.

The maximum suspension in such cases is four years, an initial two-year ban, which can be doubled if it is proven that the substance was taken deliberately.

Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Juventus could cancel Pogba’s contract if he is banned, bringing a definitive early conclusion to his second spell with them.

Pogba signed a four-year contract when he returned to the Turin club in July 2022, meaning it has another three years to run. The length of Pogba’s ban is unlikely to influence the club’s decision to rip up his deal.

Pogba’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, leapt to his defence in a statement on Tuesday, September 12.

Via reporter Simon Stone, Pimenta said: ‘We are waiting for the counter analysis and until then we can’t say anything.

‘The certain thing is that Paul Pogba never wanted to break the rules.’