Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli hints they are ready to terminate Paul Pogba’s contract after a failed doping test and assures the club ‘respected’ Leonardo Bonucci.
It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT).
The week has been dominated by news that Pogba failed a doping test, showing elevated levels of testosterone after the 3-0 win over Udinese on August 20.
There have been reports that if Pogba took a vitamin integrator in the United States without consulting the Juve staff, then the club has a very strong case to terminate his contract.
“It is an unpleasant situation, but the lads are in good shape and we are confident going into the game. I repeat, it is an unpleasant situation, we’ll wait for the counter-analysis tests and then decide along with the player’s agent what to do,” Giuntoli told DAZN.
The response seems to boost suggestions Juventus are preparing to terminate Pogba’s contract, blaming him for the failed doping test and subsequent ban, which could be up to two years.
Giuntoli has also been forced to deal with the latest outburst from former Juve defender Leonardo Bonucci, who openly insulted the director and coach Max Allegri for forcing him out of the club.
“We do not like to speak outside of the opportune arenas about certain things. We are convinced that we respected all of our players and above all the squad.”