Who is Florentin Pogba? Paul Pogba's brother, a journey man and a lifelong Arsenal supporter

ATK Mohun Bagan have signed Florentin Pogba from Ligue 2 side FC Sochaux-Montbéliard for the upcoming 2022-23 season. This is their second overseas signing of the season after Brendan Hamill who is also a defender.

Pogba, 31, is the older brother of former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba. However, unlike the 2018 World Cup winner Paul, he plays for the Guinea national team instead of France.

When and where did Florentin Pogba start playing football?

Pogba was born in Conakry, the capital and largest city of Guinea. However, when he was just eight months old, his family moved to France and settled in the eastern suburbs of Paris in a commune called Roissy-en-Brie.

He began his youth career playing for several local clubs in the Il-de-France region. He was first noticed by a scouting team of Celta de Vigo and was signed by the Spanish club in 2007 at the age of 17. The next two seasons he spent in the youth ranks at Celta but could not break through to the senior team of the LaLiga side.

Florentin Pogba -The journeyman

In March 2010, Pogba appeared for a trial at the French side called Sedan and spent his first season with the reserves. After a string of impressive performances, he was handed a professional contract and he started plying his trade for the senior side.

In the summer transfer window of 2012, he was signed by AS Saint-Etienne but was loaned back to Sedan. After a year when he returned to his parent club, he gradually found his foot in the new surroundings and went on to become the first-choice centre back for the club. After making 86 appearances for the club, Pogba was transferred to Turkish club Gençlerbirliği on a short-term contract.

After his contract expired, he travelled to Spain to play for Segunda Division side Elche. But a registration hitch meant that his move fell through. However, he soon found his new employers in MLS (Major League Soccer) side Atlanta United. In the United States, he won the U.S. Open Cup and made sporadic appearances for the club. His contract was not renewed due to the uncertainty around the collective bargaining agreement, and he was once again a free agent.

In May 2020, he returned to France and signed for Ligue 2 side Sochaux. He was an integral part of the squad and made 65 appearances in two seasons.

What happened when Paul and Florentin Pogba locked horns in a competitive match?

Not many times do we find brothers going at each other on a football pitch. But in the 2017 Europa League, Florentin and Paul faced each other when they were playing for Manchester United and St. Etienne respectively.

"Playing against my brother, on the other hand, will be something new," Florentin Pogba told The Guardian.

"We've been having fun about it ever since the draw, sending messages like 'Watch out, the match is getting closer' and so on."

United crushed Etienne 4-0 in aggregate over both the legs.

Florentin Pogba is an Arsenal fan!

Florentin Pogba became an Arsenal fan after watching Arsene Wenger's invincibles during the 2003-04 season.

"Arsenal are the club of my heart. I've supported them ever since the Invincibles - what a team! The downside of being a professional is you rarely get a chance to go to watch other teams so I've never actually been to the Emirates. But one day I will, hopefully," he stated back in 2017.

Florentin Pogba in numbers - His career at a glance