Paul Pogba is at risk of becoming the latest player in Serie A history to be handed a doping ban, following in the footsteps of former players like Pep Guardiola and Edgar Davids.
The 30-year-old midfielder has been provisionally suspended by Juventus after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone in his system following the club’s recent win over Udinese. He did not come off the bench in that match.
Should Pogba be found guilty of doping, he could be banned for up to four years, essentially spelling the end of his career. The 30-year-old now has three days to submit a counter-analysis to Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal.
Doping bans are nothing new to Serie A and Pogba now risks becoming the latest in a list of suspended players. Here are 10 recent examples via La Gazzetta dello Sport.
1 – Angelo Peruzzi
In October 1990, it was announced that the goalkeeper tested positive for phentermine following a match between Roma and Bari the month prior. He was found guilty of taking Lipopill, a drug used for slimming purposes.
Peruzzi did not appeal the ban and was forced out of action for one-year. He was sold to Juventus for around €2.3m the following summer, where he revived his career, winning the Champions League and three Scudetti.
2 – Cristian Bucchi
In the 2000-01 season, the centre forward was playing for Perugia and tested positive for nandrolone. He claimed that the reason for the positive result was excessive meat consumption after a wild boar barbeque.
Bucchi was banned for one year, missing the remainder of the season, before returning to action with Perugia.
3 – Salvatore Monaco
A teammate of Bucchi at the time, the defender tested positive in the same random drug test as the striker. He too used the wild boar barbeque as an excuse and this again did little to help his case, which saw him handed a one-year ban.
Monaco is now working as Brighton’s Chief Scout, having spent time with various provincial clubs for the remainder of his playing career.
4 – Fernando Couto
The Portuguese defender tested positive for nandrolone in January 2001 following a Lazio win over Fiorentina. He claimed that the result was due to some shampoo he was using. Couto was initially banned for 10 months but it was later reduced to four.
After hanging up his boots, Couto worked as SC Braga’s director of football, having closed out his playing career with Parma in 2008.
5 – Jaap Stam
The tough Dutch defender joined Lazio in the summer of 2001 but would test positive for nandrolone just six weeks later on October 13 following a 2-0 win over Atalanta. He was handed a five-month ban, later reduced to four, and he returned to action in the second half of the season.
Stam spent three more years with Lazio before spending time with Milan and Ajax, retiring in 2007. He moved into coaching after his playing career, managing teams like Reading and Feyenoord.
6 – Edgar Davids
The then-Juventus midfielder tested positive for nandrolone in March 2001 after a 2-0 win over Udinese. He continued playing for months, taking part in eight more Serie A games before being banned in March.
Davids was sent to the sidelines for five months, but it was later reduced to four. He returned to the pitch for the Bianconeri in October of the same year.
7 – Pep Guardiola
The now-legendary coach had a short but tumultuous time in Serie A, joining Brescia in September 2001. By November 2021, the Spanish midfielder tested positive for nandrolone twice, following a win over Piacenza and a loss to Lazio.
Guardiola was confident of his innocence but was handed a four-month ban in January 2002. A mitigating factor in his sentence was because he allegedly didn’t know he was taking banned substances. Years later, the former midfielder was acquitted on all charges.
8 – Marco Borriello
The then-Milan forward tested positive for prednisone and prednisolone in December 2006 following a clash with Roma. His defence was that he never knowingly took the substance.
His then-girlfriend, Belen Rodriguez, brought to light a vaginal cream that she was using, which allegedly was the source of his positive test. He was handed a three-man ban and had returned to action by the end of the season.
9 – Fabio Lucioni
The centre back tested positive for anabolic steroid clostebol in September 2017 following a 1-0 loss to Torino. The club doctor took full responsibility but the player was given a one-year ban regardless.
Lucioni’s ban was later reduced and he joined Lecce the following summer. The 35-year-old is now playing for Palermo in Serie B, having signed a two-year deal.
10 – Joao Pedro
The then-Cagliari striker was tested double positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic, in February 2018 following matches against Sassuolo and Chievo Verona. He was banned in May for six months but was back in action for Cagliari by September, scoring a key goal in a 1-1 draw with Milan.
Joao Pedro stayed with Cagliari until July 2022 and was even given a call-up to Roberto Mancini’s Italy squad, making his debut in the infamous 1-0 World Cup qualification loss to North Macedonia.