Paul Pogba’s team break their silence after Frenchman fails drugs test that could see him BANNED for up to four years, insisting Juventus midfielder ‘never wanted to break the rules’ as he vies to prove his innocence

• Pogba has been provisionally suspended and could face a ban of up to four years
• He is reported to have tested positive after Juventus’ game on August 20
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off!

Paul Pogba’s agent has insisted that his client ‘never wanted to break the rules’ after he was found to have committed a doping violation.

The France and Juventus midfielder is facing a ban of up to four years after testing positive for testosterone.

The 30-year-old, whose return to Italy from Manchester United in July 2022 had already turned into a nightmare before this development, is reported to have tested positive after his club’s Serie A fixture against Udinese on August 20, a game in which he did not play.

He has now been suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal on an initial precautionary basis and has three days to request a B sample. 

Though he may not be innocent, Pogba’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, has leapt to his defence in a newly-released statement.

Paul Pogba’s (pictured) agent has leapt to his defence after he was banned for doping

Rafaela Pimenta said the midfielder ‘never meant to break the rules’ as she broke her silence

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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.’

Though Pogba’s positive test was given three games ago, he has since played a part in Juventus’ games against Bologna and Empoli since the Udinese fixture as the results were analysed.

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.

Juventus confirmed Pogba’s provisional suspension in a club statement on Monday night.

The statement read: ‘Juventus Football Club announces that today, September 11, 2023, the footballer Paul Labile Pogba received a precautionary suspension order from the National Anti-Doping Tribunal following the results of tests carried out on August 20, 2023.

‘The club reserves the right to consider the next procedural steps.’

Pogba rejoined Juventus from Manchester United in the summer of 2022 on a free transfer after six years back in the Premier League.

He endured a mixed time with United, leaving the club for free for a second time after departing for Italy as a teenager in 2012.

Pogba has featured twice for Juventus since giving the sample that came back positive

He has had a difficult second stint with the Italian side since rejoining from Manchester United

But things haven’t gone to plan at Juve either, with the midfielder making just one start last season due to injury.

He has enjoyed more game time this season, but will now be absent, seemingly for the foreseeable future, amid his ban.

Pogba has previously admitted he considered retiring from football amid the alleged extortion plot against him and his family in 2022.

The French midfielder was threatened by a gang of masked, armed men in a Paris apartment who demanded millions from the star for ‘protection services.’

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