Pogba says he is talking to a club about comeback after ban

The 32-year-old also said he had re-established contact with his brother Mathias, sentenced to a year in prison last December for his involvement in a plot to extort 13 million euros ($15 million) from the 2018 World Cup winner.
Pogba, who played for Manchester United and Juventus, is hoping to put three chaotic years behind him.
Pogba suffered through repeated injuries and patchy form that led to his departure from United in 2022. He returned for a second stint at Juventus, where his problems continued.
He failed a drugs test after a game in Italy in August 2023 and was handed a four-year doping ban, which was reduced 18 months on appeal. It ended in March.
"It was very, very hard," he said.
He said he was "talking" to a club, which multiple sources said was Ligue 1 Monaco.
Pogba said he was determined "to get back on the pitch, mentally ready, physically ready, it's just a matter of time".
The extortion case involving six men linked to Paul Pogba shocked France because the perpetrators included three childhood friends and his own brother.
The five other defendants were found guilty of extortion, kidnapping and detention, as well as participation in a criminal association, and sentenced to up to eight years in prison. All six were also fined.
Paul Pogba said he was talking to Mathias who is being allowed to serve his sentence wearing an electronic bracelet rather than behind bars.
"We are in contact. We've spoken, among ourselves, with the family," Paul Pogba said. "It's a blood bond. There was a scar, of course. We're moving forward. Only time can give us answers."
"All we want is to always be united as a family. That's the most important thing. It's hard. Of course it's very hard, I'm not going to lie. I was hurt. It's not the same as before, but we're in touch," he added.
Paul Pogba was held at gunpoint in 2022 by two hooded men who demanded money.
He said on Sunday that he was initially willing to pay but "afterwards, I cracked," he said, deciding "to speak out, even if it meant dying" and refusing "to throw away my money like that".
He said the ban and the court case had changed him

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France 24

7 hours ago

• France 24

Pogba says he is talking to a club about comeback after ban

The 32-year-old also said he had re-established contact with his brother Mathias, sentenced to a year in prison last December for his involvement in a plot to extort 13 million euros ($15 million) from the 2018 World Cup winner. Pogba, who played for Manchester United and Juventus, is hoping to put three chaotic years behind him. Pogba suffered through repeated injuries and patchy form that led to his departure from United in 2022. He returned for a second stint at Juventus, where his problems continued. He failed a drugs test after a game in Italy in August 2023 and was handed a four-year doping ban, which was reduced 18 months on appeal. It ended in March. "It was very, very hard," he said. He said he was "talking" to a club, which multiple sources said was Ligue 1 Monaco. Pogba said he was determined "to get back on the pitch, mentally ready, physically ready, it's just a matter of time". The extortion case involving six men linked to Paul Pogba shocked France because the perpetrators included three childhood friends and his own brother. The five other defendants were found guilty of extortion, kidnapping and detention, as well as participation in a criminal association, and sentenced to up to eight years in prison. All six were also fined. Paul Pogba said he was talking to Mathias who is being allowed to serve his sentence wearing an electronic bracelet rather than behind bars. "We are in contact. We've spoken, among ourselves, with the family," Paul Pogba said. "It's a blood bond. There was a scar, of course. We're moving forward. Only time can give us answers." "All we want is to always be united as a family. That's the most important thing. It's hard. Of course it's very hard, I'm not going to lie. I was hurt. It's not the same as before, but we're in touch," he added. Paul Pogba was held at gunpoint in 2022 by two hooded men who demanded money. He said on Sunday that he was initially willing to pay but "afterwards, I cracked," he said, deciding "to speak out, even if it meant dying" and refusing "to throw away my money like that". He said the ban and the court case had changed him

France 24

21 hours ago

• France 24

Wallabies confident but wary of wounded British and irish Lions

Andy Farrell's squad arrive in Perth on Sunday evening already feeling pressure after a slick Pumas exploited their lack of familiarity and cohesion in a rousing 28-24 victory on Friday. While far from the ideal send-off for a nine-game tour, which includes Tests in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, Farrell has time to fine tune. He was without the bulk of his Leinster players against Argentina, and his options are a lot stronger now they are involved. "We need to be a lot better than that. And we will. We'll dust ourselves off but that will concentrate the minds," he said. The first Test in Brisbane is not until July 19 after five lead-in games, starting against a Nic White-led Western Force on Saturday before meeting the Queensland Reds four days later. Clashes against the NSW Waratahs, ACT Brumbies and a combined Australia-New Zealand XV will follow. Lions skipper Maro Itoje said the loss to Argentina only served to highlight where they can improve. "We showed glimmers of what we can do. But we did not consistently pile on the pressure. Argentina caught us napping sometimes," he said. "We weren't accurate enough in some areas but when we looked good, we looked good." Schmidt is intimately familiar with the Lions coaching staff, none more so than Farrell who was his right-hand man during a successful stretch as Ireland boss. He will know how much the defeat hurt. "I know a lot of those guys very well ... they'll be well coached, well organised and they have strength in depth," Schmidt said of the Lions, speaking before the Argentina match "They can play in so many different ways, they can be really physical, they can be square and come at you, they can get you on the edges. "We're going to have to be really well prepared." Whether they are sufficiently prepared remains to be seen, with Australia's only warm-up a Test against Fiji on July 6. 'We can be competitive' Schmidt is also conscious that outside of his Brumbies cohort, who featured in the Super Rugby semi-finals, the bulk of his squad have not had a competitive game since late May. He was initially said to be against members of his Test squad playing for their Super Rugby clubs against the Lions, to safeguard against injury, but appears to have relaxed his stance. "One thing we're conscious of is making sure our clubs are competitive," said Schmidt. "Some of these guys haven't played -– it'll be four or five weeks since they'll have played. So to get a game under their belt before they actually come into Wallaby camp may be the most advantageous situation." Schmidt was installed to restore Australia's reputation after they slumped to 10th in the world following a horror 2023 World Cup under Eddie Jones. While credited with bringing stability and a new work ethic, the Wallabies are still only ranked eight and Schmidt's record of six wins and seven defeats is nothing to shout about. But he is taking confidence from a last-gasp win over England at Twickenham in November and pushing Ireland to the limit in Dublin three weeks later. "How confident are we of success against the Lions? I'm confident that we can be competitive," he said. "And if we can be within a score of the Lions and there's five to go, then we're a chance." When they last toured Australia in 2013, the Lions won the series 2-1 with Wallabies prop James Slipper the sole survivor. Coached by Warren Gatland, the visitors clinched the first Test in Brisbane 23-21 before Australia battled back with a gutsy 16-15 win at Melbourne. But it was all Lions in the Sydney decider, triumphing 41-16. It proved to be the last tour they won, drawing the series with New Zealand four years later and losing to South Africa in 2021.

France 24

a day ago

• France 24

From attendances to NBA-style walkouts: Club World Cup talking points

AFP Sport looks at some of the main talking points at the tournament so far: Political shadow FIFA have faced criticism for their increasingly close links to US President Donald Trump and his administration. Ahead of the tournament, UEFA accused FIFA chief Gianni Infantino of prioritising "private political interests" after he turned up late for FIFA's own congress because he met with Trump in the Middle East. Infantino was in the Oval Office again on Wednesday with a delegation from Juventus, as they shared an awkward exchange with Trump as he questioned them on transgender athletes. "It was a bit weird," said Juventus and USA forward Timothy Weah. "When he started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of, like... I just want to play football, man." Meanwhile some fans were worried by reports ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers were providing "security" at Club World Cup stadiums. Plainclothes ICE officers have been targeting what they say are "undocumented" migrants. To this point they do not appear to have apprehended any match-going supporters. European teams not getting it all their own way Europe's leading clubs are the richest in the world and it would be a surprise if the winner of the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup came from a different continent. However, the evidence so far is that Europe's representatives are not having it all their own way. Up to Friday, clubs from Europe had won only half of 16 games against opponents from other continents, with South America showing it can more than hold its own. Paris Saint-Germain lost to Botafogo, while Chelsea were blown away by Flamengo. Real Madrid could not get the better of Saudi side Al-Hilal, but Europe sent far more clubs (12) than any other continent and it still looks likely that over half of the teams in the last 16 will be European. Attendances hold up despite empty seats There has been a lot of talk about empty seats, with the low point being the attendance of 3,412 in Orlando for Mamelodi Sundowns against Ulsan HD. There were also barely 22,000 at Chelsea's win over Los Angeles FC in Atlanta, leaving around 50,000 empty seats in the stadium in Atlanta. Yet the average attendance over the first seven days at the tournament was 36,135. That is higher than the average in La Liga, Serie A or Ligue 1 over the last season. The games featuring South American teams have seen some incredible atmospheres, especially in Miami for Friday's clash between Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors. "Amazing, amazing," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany when asked about the crowd, with passionate Boca fans making up the vast majority of the 63,587 attendance. "It is one of these things: if you are not here it is sometimes hard to understand, but being here is an experience, a privilege." Waiting for the weather Several matches have been held up because of inclement weather. Common public safety protocols in the US mandate that outdoor sports events are suspended for at least 30 minutes if lightning or thunder is seen or heard in the nearby area. Two matches in Orlando, a regular location for tropical storms, have been suspended, while games in East Rutherford and Cincinnati have also been interrupted. National team coaches preparing for the 2026 World Cup must consider the best way to prepare their players to cope with such delays. Climate change has been linked to an increase in frequency and intensity of storms and extreme weather conditions. 'Showbiz' NBA-style walkouts Organisers have jumped on the chance to make each game a show in the style of a traditional American sporting event, including having players come out onto the field one by one as their names are announced, like in the NBA. "Why not bring it to the Premier League," replied Chelsea's Romeo Lavia when asked if it could become a thing in England. "It's a bit of a showbiz thing, isn't it? I quite like it." Not everyone agrees with Lavia. "It's a bit slow. I find it a bit strange. It seems like putting on a show for the sake of it. It seems a bit pointless," said the Porto coach, Martin Anselmi.