Paul Pogba: ‘I’m the one who suffered the most’ | OneFootball

Paul Pogba (32) made his long-awaited AS Monaco debut on Saturday as Sébastien Pocognoli’s Les Monégasques suffered a heavy away defeat to Habib Beye’s Rennes (4-1). The France international midfielder took to the pitch for a ten-minute cameo with Rennes firmly out of sight for the visitors, who were reduced to ten following Denis Zakaria’s red card.

Pogba admitted that he was still a long way from being able to play the full 90 minutes of a football game, but he says he was mostly relieved to restart his professional career after a two-year hiatus. The 2018 World Cup winner with France added that he never feared to not being able to return at the highest level. “Otherwise, I would have retired“, Pogba said to reporters in the Roazhon Park’s mixed zone. “I’m a competitor, and football isn’t over. We worked and waited for over two years, and today it’s done, thank God.“

Pogba continued to claim his innocence over the doping allegations that brutally halted his Juventus spell two years ago. “I believe in myself and my abilities, and since I know I hadn’t done anything wrong and it wasn’t my fault, I always hoped.” Pogba added that, amidst the whirlwind of a doping ban and his kidnapping by armed men, he was “the one who suffered the most.” “There are moments when the devil tries to speak in your head to tell you it’s over, but there is a Good God.”

GFFN | Bastien Cheval