News
Pogba’s Juve Contract Terminated Despite Doping Ban Reduction
Paul Pogba’s Juventus career is over after the Serie A club announced on Friday that the France midfielder’s contract had been terminated even though his doping ban was cut to 18 months on appeal.
Pogba will be able to return to competitive football in March after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) chopped last month an initial four-year suspension handed down by the Italian anti-doping authority NADO.
But Juventus have decided to cut ties with the 31-year-old, whose return to Turin from Manchester United in 2022 was ruined by a string of problems on and off the pitch.
In a statement, Juve said that they and Pogba “have reached a mutual agreement for the termination of their contract as of 30 November, 2024”.
His contract had been due to expire in 2026.
“You gave me a lot, more than what I could ever say, and I’ll always keep with me the love you showed me,” said Pogba to Juve fans on social media.
“You’ll always be in my heart. Good luck.”
Pogba had said in October that he was “willing to give up money to be able to play again with Juve”, an appeal which fell on deaf ears at the “Old Lady” of Italian football.
Juve’s announcement is no surprise as both coach Thiago Motta and sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli have both repeatedly referred to Pogba in the past tense, saying that “he was a great player”.
Pogba, a World Cup winner with France in 2018, started just one match after rejoining Juve — with whom he won four Serie A titles between 2012 and 2016 — in the summer of 2022.
He last played for Juve at Empoli in September last year, not long before he was provisionally suspended for testing positive for testosterone.
That test came following Juve’s opening Serie A fixture of last season the previous month, a 3-0 win at Udinese in which he didn’t even play.
He was then banned for four years by NADO in February, a sanction which put his career at risk before CAS reduced his punishment.
CAS accepted Pogba’s argument that the failed test “was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida”.
However, CAS did not completely exonerate Pogba as he “was not without fault” and as a professional football player, “he should have paid a greater care in the circumstances”.
During the 2022-23 season, Pogba made just 10 appearances for Juve, mainly due to a knee injury that also ruled him out of the World Cup in Qatar where France lost out to Argentina in the final in December 2022.
He was also the victim of a case of organised extortion, for which six men, including his brother Mathias, have been ordered to stand trial.
In Pogba’s absence Juve switched manager from Massimiliano Allegri to Motta and brought in a host of new players as part of a rebuild.
Juve, who finished third last term without Pogba, splashed out over 120 million euros on midfielders Teun Koopmeiners, Douglas Luiz and Khephren Thuram in a busy summer on the transfer market.
They currently sit sixth in Serie A but are only two points behind league leaders Napoli and face AC Milan at the San Siro after the international break.
AFP
News
Just in: Tinubu exposes those behind deadly stampedes
President Bola Tinubu has accused organisers for the deadly stampedes that occurred during the distribution of relief materials in three states.
Recall in the past week, chaotic scenes in Ibadan, Anambra and Abuja led to the deaths of over 60 people, including children, as crowds scrambled for food items.
During a Presidential Media Chat on Monday, Tinubu described the events as a critical failure in planning and execution.
Condolences to those who lost a family member, but it is good to give. I have been giving out food stuff, commodities, etc. in Bourdillon.
“I am an organized person and that’s why I have been giving people food for the past 25 years and no incident has happened.
“Let this tragedy not affect us”, the Nigerian leader said.
The president also said he has no plans to reduce his cabinet or sack more ministers.
For the controversial tax reform bills, he said it has come to stay.
He also revealed he has no regrets removing fuel subsidy.
He declared utmost confidence in his security chiefs saying over the past decades, wanton killings has reduced drastically.
News
Tinubu To Hold Maiden Presidential Media Chat Tonight
President Bola Tinubu will hold first presidential chat since assuming office on Monday night.
Accoding to a statement released by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the chat will be broadcast at 9 p.m. on the stations of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN).
All television and radio stations are requested to hook up to the broadcast.
“The first Presidential Media Chat with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be broadcast at 9 p.m. on Monday, December 23, on the Nigerian Television Authority and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.
“All television and radio stations are requested to hook up to the broadcast,” the statement.
News
‘Putin waiting to meet me as soon as possible’ to end Ukraine war – Trump
The US President-elect took to the stage AmFest in Phoenix to talk about his contact with the Russian leader.
He told the crowd: “President Putin has said he want to meet with me as soon as possible.”
Trump went on to brand the war “horrible” and stated it needed to end. It is not known whether or not this meeting will take place in person. His comments at the event in the US come as Putin met with another world leader.
Putin held talks in the Kremlin today (December 22) with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Fico arrived in Russia on a “working visit” and met with Putin one-on-one. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s RIA agency that the talks would focus on “the international situation” and Russian natural gas deliveries.
Visits and phone calls from European leaders to Putin have been rare since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, although Hungary’s PM Viktor Orban visited Russia in July. Orban’s visit drew condemnation from Kyiv and European leaders.Fico’s views on Russia’s war on Ukraine differ sharply from most other European leaders. The Slovakian PM returned to power last year after his leftist party Smer (Direction) won parliamentary elections on a pro-Russia and anti-American platform. Since then, he has ended his country’s military aid for Ukraine, hit out at EU sanctions on Russia, and vowed to block Ukraine from joining NATO.
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