Manchester United have been strongly warned against re-signing Paul Pogba for a second time to boost Ruben Amorim's squad numbers. The former Red Devils midfielder will be free to join a new club when he completes an 18-month doping ban later this month, which has sparked links to an Old Trafford return.
Pogba left United as a free agent in 2022 after the expiry of his contract, re-joining Juventus on a four-year deal. The Frenchman endured an injury-hit first season back in Turin, where he also landed from Manchester in 2012 before returning for a world-record £89million four years later. Pogba was then provisionally suspended from football after failing a drug test for non-endogenous testosterone.
In February 2024, the Italian Anti-Doping National Tribunal slapped Pogba with a four-year ban, with the option to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In October of that year, the World Cup winner's ban was reduced to 18 months, permitting him to return to training in January 2025 and start playing in March.
After Juventus and Pogba mutually agreed to terminate his contract in November, he is free to choose his next destination.
That decision is imminent, but former United defender Mikael Silvestre has urged INEOS and Ruben Amorim to ignore his French compatriot's availability.
"No, I wouldn't be tempted to sign Paul Pogba on a free transfer if I was Manchester United," Silvestre told reporters.
"I like Paul a lot, but I wouldn't because it's going to be expensive, and you don't know, physically, how long it's going to take him to get up match fitness.
"Even though he's been out of the game for 18 months, before his ban, he wasn't really playing that much at Juventus. He's had a couple of injuries.
"It's too big of a risk. If you were signing him and he was in peak fitness, he had been playing regular football, with a perfect body and mind, then it would be a no-brainer.
"But, after what he's been through as well, it's extremely difficult for him. I wouldn't be in favour of Manchester United bringing him back to the club again."
Amorim has already heavily implied that United won't be pursuing such deals in his rebuild.
Alongside INEOS, he has publicly vowed to avoid repeating the previous regime's "mistakes", which have contributed towards the club's current financial mess.
Amorim is expected to spearhead a focus on younger, more cost-efficient signings in what is shaping up to be one of the most important summer transfer windows in United's history.
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