Paul Pogba’s grand return with AS Monaco looks to be coming to an end after barely more than a game’s worth of minutes.
The 2018 World Cup winner didn’t play from September 2023 with Juventus until November 2025 with Monaco due to a doping ban and injury struggles.
Monaco was seen as the perfect landing spot, out of the media spotlight and at a lower level than his previous time in the Premier League.
Yet after his return for five minutes he made four more substitute appearances and one start, totalling just 115 minutes.
Pogba has a deal until next summer, but with Monaco under a salary cap from French football’s financial watchdog, he will have to reduce his wage, or preferably depart.
Monaco boss admits Pogba is likely to leave
Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro said: “I believe that now we need to be fair with him: look at his preparation each week, see how he has progressed physically and technically.
“And then it will be the coach’s decision, whether Filipe Luis will give him playing time or not.
“We have the summer to see what Paul’s level will be. Is he likely to leave? Yes, of course.
“With Paul, the relationship has always been open and transparent. If, at any point, the player’s and the club’s objectives differ, a solution must be found.
“Performance will provide all the answers we need. Maybe he will leave, maybe he will stay.”
He added: “It’s a very complicated issue. First and foremost, we have a lot of respect for him as a person.
“When he arrived here, he was very positive; he helped the younger players.
“But the truth is also that the project (with him) didn’t work well last season. When we started it, our expectations were very different.”
New Monaco coach retains Pogba hope
Giving his take, new coach Felipe Luis struck a more positive tone.
He added: “I spoke with him, for sure. I spoke with almost all the players and in the coming days we will speak with everyone individually.
“But he is a special player, he has an incredible career, a world champion. He is a great idol in France.
“Now he starts pre-season from the beginning, but when you get to the team, nobody is more important than the team.
“Paul Pogba can help. He has a lot of quality and we hope he can return to the level everyone knows. He will be a great help to us, but we want to help him get back to that level.”
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