A Costly Liability: Monaco Prepares to Cut Ties with Paul Pogba

There is a predictable rhythm to the twilight years of modern football's most expensive assets. The cycle of rehabilitation, fleeting optimism, and physical failure has become a familiar routine for Paul Pogba. The 33-year-old midfielder sustained yet another injury, this time to his left thigh, on Tuesday during the first day of AS Monaco’s training camp at St George’s Park in England. Occurring just as he attempted to reintegrate into group sessions following persistent right-knee complications, this latest collapse suggests his brief stint in the principality is fast approaching its conclusion.

Football operates on a ruthless calculus, and the numbers surrounding the Seine-et-Marne-born player make for grim reading. After serving 18 months of a four-year doping ban, his 2025 return to domestic football yielded a mere 115 minutes of action across six Ligue 1 appearances last season. For a French league perpetually grappling with fragile finances, investing in a fading superstar was always a high-risk gamble. Monaco now appears ready to acknowledge the failure of that wager. Widespread speculation suggests the club is initiating discussions to buy out the remainder of a contract scheduled to expire at the end of the new season.

The timing of this setback is particularly damaging. Monaco had just secured a friendly victory over Liverpool on Sunday. Instead, the subsequent training session at the English national football centre confirmed their marquee midfielder remains physically incapable of meeting top-tier demands. Having managed only a single half of football during the pre-season, sources close to the situation indicate the player is nowhere near the required fitness threshold for the French top flight.

It is a stark contrast to a career once defined by astronomical valuations. Pogba’s journey features highly lucrative transitions—leaving Manchester United for Juventus as a 19-year-old on a free transfer in 2012 after manager Sir Alex Ferguson released him following an agent dispute. He returned to England for a then-record $120.2 million in 2016. During his initial spell in Turin, he secured four consecutive Serie A titles and reached a Champions League final. He rejoined Juventus on another free transfer in 2022, only to be released in 2024 during his suspension, before Monaco offered him his first senior club football in France.

The dynamism that propelled France to a 4-2 victory over Croatia in the 2018 World Cup final in Russia—where he scored his team's third goal—has evaporated. His final national team appearance occurred in a 5-0 friendly victory over South Africa in 2022, capping off 91 caps and 11 goals. Monaco’s apparent desperation to terminate his contract early highlights a cold truth: past glories offer no protection against physical realities. The club's attempt to salvage value from a declining asset has become an expensive lesson in athletic longevity.

Written by Christiane Hofreiter christiane.hofreiter@alpineweekly.com