Monaco cancel Pogba's contract after just six appearances, leaving him without a club

AS Monaco have cut short Paul Pogba’s contract by mutual agreement, the Ligue 1 club announced on Wednesday, leaving the former Manchester United midfielder without a club for the second time in two years. Pogba had signed on a free transfer last summer on a deal that was due to run until June 2027, but managed just six appearances across his debut season.

In a statement, Monaco said the two parties had “jointly concluded that the objectives initially set were only partially achieved” and decided to part ways before the opening match of the new campaign. The club praised Pogba’s “remarkable mindset, unwavering determination and the highest standards at every moment,” adding that he had shared his “experience and expertise with the first-team squad” during his time at the Principality club.

The move to Monaco had been Pogba’s attempt to relaunch a career derailed by persistent injury and a four-year doping ban handed down following his second spell at Juventus. That suspension was subsequently reduced to 18 months on appeal, allowing him to return to competitive football last season.

The announcement comes just days after Pogba’s wife, Zulay, publicly pushed back against calls for the 31-year-old to retire. “For all the people saying Paul should retire or he came back to football for the money, let me make this clear — the only one who knows when he will retire is God,” she wrote on social media. “And for the ones who say he came back for the money, trust me we are very good with money, thank God.”

Zulay also defended her husband’s legacy, pointing to his 2018 FIFA World Cup winner’s medal with France. “For those questioning what he has left to prove, let me remind you he achieved the dream every footballer in the world grows up chasing, dreaming to have. He won the World Cup for his country.”

Pogba now faces an uncertain future as he searches for a third club since departing Old Trafford for the final time in 2022. Whether any top-flight side will take a chance on the midfielder, given his injury record and limited playing time at Monaco, remains to be seen.