L’Equipe: Pogba’s monthly salary before tax in Monaco is 320,000 euros; he is expected to return to form in 26 years

Hupu reported on November 19 that the French media L’Equipe wrote a column on Pogba’s comeback.

(I will omit the objective description of many events)

While he was suspended for doping, his monthly salary at Juventus plummeted from 700,000 euros to 2,000 euros. His contract with the "Old Woman" originally expired in 2026, but was eventually terminated by his agent at the end of November 2024.

During the 18-month ban, Pogba traveled between Paris, Turin and Dubai, always keeping in touch with the football world. He is actively involved in charity events around the world, signing with brands that have confidence in him, visiting friends in stadiums across Europe and returning to his parents' hometown of Guinea.

He has traveled to Madrid to visit Griezmann; visited the French national team's dressing room during the 2024 European Cup; made a pilgrimage to Mecca; and even starred in the movie "4Zéros" with Fabian Onteniente.

But he spends most of his time with his wife, Maria Zulay Salaos, a Bolivian woman he met in Florida in 2017, and their three children. In recent years, family members have helped him through another difficult time: a kidnapping.

On June 28, a video was still circulating on the Internet: In the video, Paul Pogba signed a two-year contract with Monaco Club general manager Thiago Scurro, with tears in his eyes.

Is this arranged in advance? Partly yes, but Monaco also chose Pogba because of the person he is, his image and the fans he has around the world, who know he is the third most followed French player on social media after Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema. In any case, his tears were genuine and his emotions were sincere and moving.

That day, Pogba was offered a professional contract, joining Monaco rather than Marseille, and in Ligue 1, a league he had never played in, rather than Russia, Major League Soccer, Saudi Arabia or Japan - where he had been widely expected to go.

His suspension is over, just like the trial of his so-called good brothers, although the experience left scars on him.

Monaco first conducted a comprehensive assessment of his physical condition as a top player, covering all aspects: biochemical indicators, physical fitness measurements, posture analysis, strength, explosive power, speed, endurance, reflexes, cognitive function, flexibility (hip, knee, ankle) tests, and mental state assessment. All of this is to develop his recovery plan and take into account possible physical weaknesses in his injury-plagued career.

This step-by-step and carefully planned recovery training plan is mainly supervised by Monaco’s chief physical therapist Jerome Palestri on a daily basis. The goal is clear: reduce muscle weakness and reduce the risk of recurrence caused by long-term absence from training;

adjust the physical condition according to Pogba's body type and playing style so that he can meet the needs of the game; and re-adapt to high-intensity, high-impact training and games. This time, everything went well.

In Monaco, Pogba's income is only half of what he earned at Juventus, about 320,000 euros per month before tax. He lives in France, close to the Latourbi training centre, rather than in Monaco like the other French players in the squad.

He has a private car to transport him and has a private box at the Louis II Stadium. He often invites injured or suspended players to watch Monaco games. Being a leader and motivator is something he has shown in Manchester, in the French national team and at Juventus, and it continues to be the case in Monaco.

Who is his best friend? Ansu Fati and Denis Zakaria (the two met briefly at Juventus in the summer of 2022), as well as Eric Dier and Ellis Ben Segier (the two were teammates with a good understanding before the Moroccan moved to Leverkusen).

Pogba has not played in a game for two years and two months, which is quite a long time. But his 2022-2023 season (the season before he was suspended) was almost completely wasted, playing only 161 minutes due to multiple injuries to the knee, thigh, groin and adductor muscles.

The last time he played at a high level was even longer; you have to go back to the 2021-2022 season to find his relatively consistent playing time. In short, Pogba has not played a serious game in three years, and no player in history has returned after such a long layoff.

How will his muscles and joints react? What will happen to his endurance, speed, jumping ability, balance and explosiveness? How well does he read the game? How fast does his eyeball move? Most importantly, can he withstand the high-intensity competition after his comeback?

"If he is allowed to come back, it is because he has passed the club's assessment at all levels and meets all the standards," explained Alexandre de Lal, the former Lyon and Nice fitness coach and current fitness coach of the Haitian national team, which is still competing for the World Cup.

"Monaco will not let Pogba play just to let him play. It is mid-November now, and I think the club's strategy should be to let him gradually adapt to the rhythm of the game, from long to short, until the end of the year, hoping that he can contribute to the team in the first half of 2026."