Paul Pogba French Footballer Born 1993 in Lagny-sur-Marne

Early life

Paul Labile Pogba was born on 15 March 1993 in Lagny-sur-Marne, in the Seine-et-Marne department of France, to Guinean parents. He began playing organised football at the age of six with US Roissy-en-Brie, where he stayed for seven seasons. He then moved to US Torcy, captaining its under-13 side, and after a season there joined Le Havre. In his second year at Le Havre he captained the under-16 team. In 2009 he left France for the youth academy of Manchester United, and he later attended Ashton-on-Mersey School in England. He speaks French, English, Italian and Spanish.

Career

Pogba played for Manchester United's youth and reserve sides before making his senior debut as a half-time substitute in a League Cup tie against Leeds United in September 2011. His Premier League debut followed in January 2012. With limited first-team opportunities, he left United in the summer of 2012 and signed for Juventus on a four-year contract.

At Juventus he became a regular in midfield. The club won four consecutive Serie A titles between 2012 and 2016, and Pogba was part of the sides that took two Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana trophies. He reached the final of the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League, which Juventus lost to Barcelona. In 2013 he received the Golden Boy award as Europe's best young player, and for the 2015-16 season he was given the club's number 10 shirt. He ended that season as joint top assist provider in Serie A, and he was named in the 2015 UEFA Team of the Year and the FIFA FIFPro World XI.

In August 2016 he rejoined Manchester United for a then-record transfer fee of 105 million euros. In his first season back he won the EFL Cup, and he scored the opening goal in the Europa League final against Ajax, which United won 2-0. He was named the competition's Player of the Season. In 2018-19 he recorded the most productive season of his career, with 16 goals and 11 assists in all competitions, and he was included in the PFA Team of the Year. He stayed at the club until his contract expired in June 2022.

Pogba returned to Juventus on a four-year contract in July 2022. In September 2023 he was provisionally suspended after a failed drug test, and in February 2024 an Italian tribunal handed him a four-year ban, which was reduced on appeal to 18 months in October 2024. Juventus and Pogba agreed to end his contract in November 2024. He signed for AS Monaco in June 2025, and the club confirmed in August 2026 that the two sides had agreed to terminate the deal.

International career

Pogba represented France at every youth level from under-16 upward, and he captained several of those teams. He led the under-20 side to the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, France's first title at that tournament, and received the Golden Ball as its best player. He made his senior debut in March 2013 in a World Cup qualifier against Georgia and scored his first international goal that September against Belarus. At the 2014 World Cup he scored the opening goal against Nigeria in the round of 16 and was named Best Young Player.

He was part of the France squad that reached the final of UEFA Euro 2016 on home soil, losing to Portugal after extra time. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia he scored France's third goal in the final against Croatia, a 4-2 win. In the Euro 2020 round of 16 he scored against Switzerland in a match France lost on penalties. His senior international career spans 2013 to 2022 on record.

Recognition

Pogba was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2018, the year France won the World Cup. His other honours include the Bravo Award in 2014 and the FIFA World Cup Young Player Award the same year, and a place in the Serie A Team of the Year for three consecutive seasons from 2013-14.