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Paul Pogba could tear up Juventus contract and join Lionel Messi after ban cut on appeal

Paul Pogba succeeded in reducing a doping ban on appeal and now his "nightmare is over" the France World Cup winner wants to move on from "a hugely distressing period in my life"

[Paul Pogba's "nightmare" is over]

Paul Pogba's "nightmare" is over(Image: Getty Images)

Manchester United flop Paul Pogba could be one of the star names at next summer's Club World Cup.

The 31-year-old is poised to return to football next March after revealing on Friday that he had succeeded in reducing a doping ban on appeal. Now the France international wants to get his career back on track.

Talks to terminate his contract with Juventus, which runs until the summer of 2026, are expected to start now that a judgement from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has been published. Both the player and the club are understood to acknowledge that a contract termination is in their mutual interest.

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Sources close to the player say his next steps after that are in the early days, but hinted at interest from clubs involved in next summer's 32-team Club World Cup. Pogba will be able to train with and register for a new club from January.

His freshness for the summer tournament at a time when other players are coming off the back of long seasons at domestic and international level could be a bonus to a competing team. Inter Miami, the home of Lionel Messi, who could still be one of those competing teams, might be one possibility, after Pogba attended one of their matches last month.

[Paul Pogba went to watch Lionel Messi in action for Inter Miami]

Paul Pogba went to watch Lionel Messi in action for Inter Miami

Pogba was hit with a four-year ban in March after being provisionally suspended in September last year having tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). The rules provide for the ban being cut if the athlete can prove the breach was not intentional.

The France World Cup winner said in a statement released on Friday: "Finally the nightmare is over. I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again. I always stated that I never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes.

"I play with integrity and, although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I want to place on record my thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport's judges who heard my explanation. This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold."

The CAS issued a statement on Monday confirming Pogba's appeal had been partially upheld and the reduction of the ban from four years to 18 months. The panel confirmed it had found Pogba's ingestion of the banned substance "was not intentional" and was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida.

The panel said Pogba "was not without fault" and "should have paid a greater care in the circumstances", but agreed to a reduction in the sanction.

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