Report: Juventus, Paul Pogba agree to terms on contract termination

Today at 11:25 AM

The expected is getting closer to becoming a reality.

As Paul Pogba made his media tour last month in the days following his doping suspension being reduced from four years to 18 months, there was one specific thing he said whenever asked about his future at Juventus.

It involved representatives and lawyers from both sides talking — which, on the face of it, very much pointed to something that didn't involve Pogba wearing bianconero again despite the fact he's suddenly eligible to return to the field in March.

And it seems those talks are pretty much done with and the end game in which Juventus has been seeking all along will be official soon.

According to reports out of Italy on Friday, Juventus and Pogba's camp have reached an agreement on terms of contract termination by mutual consent. This comes after a report from Sky Sports in England earlier this week that said talks between the two sides were at an "advanced" stage as they work toward a contract termination. It has always been the most logical route for Pogba — who is signed through 2026, has been on a minimum salary of just over €2,000 a week during his suspension — to see his time with Juventus come to an end after the club said they were going to let the appeals process play out before making a final decision. Since then, brief comments made last month by sporting chief Cristiano Giuntoli have very much ruled out any sort of return to the roster, with Thiago Motta's squad being described as "complete" and how Juve "were forced to invest in other players" as a result of Pogba's original suspension.

The kicker to all of this? Pogba will reportedly not receive any sort of severance pay when his contract is officially terminated.

Since his suspension reduction, Pogba has been linked with moves to, most notably, Major League Soccer, the Saudi Pro League and potentially Ligue 1 in his home country of France or even a return to the Premier League, according to Sky.

This was always going to be the overwhelming favorite in terms of outcomes no matter if Pogba had his suspension reduced upon appeal or confirmed at the original four-year ban that was handed down last February. Juventus, rightfully, let the legal process play out from the very beginning — be it seeing the provisional suspension turn into the initiial four-year ban or the appeals process in which Pogba and his legal team argued to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that he did not purposely take DHEA, a substance on WADA's banned list that raises testosterone levels.

With CAS' ruling and the reduced suspension, Pogba is eligible to return to training in January and to competitive action two months later in March.

But, probably to the surprise of nobody at this point, that won't be happening at Juventus. With so much that has happened ever since Pogba made his return to the club in the summer of 2022 — and not much of it being all that positive due to injuries and then his doping suspension — it's pretty easy to understand why Juve just want to move on.

With Kenan Yildiz now wearing the same No. 10 kit that Pogba was sporting upon his return nearly 2 ¹⁄₂ years ago now, there won't be any sort of Michael Jordan in the No. 45 kind of moment come the springtime in Turin. Juventus have wanted to move on for months now, and that is going to become a reality in the very near future.