Paul Pogba is out at Monaco. Contract terminated early, objectives "only partially achieved" — which is a polite way of saying a gamble that never really paid off has been called in.
Six appearances in a full season. Five as a substitute. For a player who joined on a deal running until 2027, those numbers tell you everything about how this reunion with professional football actually went. Pogba said representing Monaco was "an incredible experience" and that he'll "always be grateful" — the kind of quote you give when there's nothing else left to say.
A comeback that never quite came
The context matters here. Pogba joined Monaco last summer off the back of a doping ban picked up at Juventus — one he always maintained was a mistake — which the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced from four years to 18 months, allowing him to return to football in March 2025. Monaco took the punt. At 33, coming back from that kind of absence, with fitness questions hanging over him, it was always going to be difficult.
It was more difficult than anyone wanted to admit publicly. CEO Thiago Scuro said the club knew it was "a major challenge, audacious and ambitious" when Pogba signed. He's right. But audacious bets need to produce something, and this one produced 90 minutes across five substitute appearances and one start.
Now he's got a hamstring injury picked up at Monaco's pre-season camp in England last week, which complicates whatever comes next.
MLS is the likely destination — when fit
BBC Sport reports interest from Major League Soccer, with DC United and Inter Miami both previously linked. That's the realistic landing spot for a 33-year-old with a stop-start last two years and a hamstring currently keeping him sidelined. The MLS transfer window and pace of play suit where Pogba is in his career far better than European football does right now.
Any move is on hold until he's healthy. And given how the Monaco chapter unfolded, there'll be questions about what kind of Pogba arrives — and whether the answer still matters to anyone placing faith in him to perform consistently.
"The outcome is not what we had hoped for," Scuro said. That covers it, really.
