Don’t do what Dele Alli did! Paul Pogba gets 'wrong place' warning as ex-Man Utd & Juventus star mulls over next move after serving doping ban

Former England international Dele is still trying to rebuild his career after seeing a professional spark fizzle out on the back of leaving Tottenham. He is currently in Serie A with Como, having flopped at Everton and enduring a forgettable loan spell at Besiktas.

World Cup winner Pogba has become a free agent in 2025, after seeing his contract at Juventus terminated while serving an 18-month doping ban, and has been linked with clubs from MLS to the Saudi Pro League via Ligue 1 and the Premier League.

Colin Kazim-Richards, who has globe trekked himself - spending time in England, Turkey, France, the Netherlands, Brazil and Mexico - is well placed to offer advice to Pogba when it comes to taking calculated risks.

Kazim-Richards has told betideas.com: “Paul needs to find his love for the game, and he needs the game to love him back. That is crucial for wherever he goes next. Without doubt.

“For me, Brazil was amazing. Amazing for all facets of the game, from fans to the competitiveness, to the amount of games. I played 80 something games in one year. Then when you play in the continental competitions, the countries that you get to play in and the stadiums, it was unreal. I loved it.”

He added on Pogba: “A lot of Brazilian clubs would love to bring him over because it's Paul Pogba, but let's be serious. And this is not a slight on Pogba, because I think he is very underrated. Everybody's got an opinion about him. He had his ban. If we’re talking about Pogba at his best, we’re talking about a 6 foot 3 player that moves his feet like the best wingers. With vision like Xavi or Iniesta, but with the dribbling ability of the best attackers. It's not normal, that level of ability.

“But he's not going to be the Paul Pogba that we all know. Not yet, not after the period he’s had out. He needs to go somewhere where he doesn’t have that pressure to be the main man from the first minute, because it’s going to take time to get going again.

“He needs to go somewhere that's going to allow him to become the Paul Pogba that we saw dominate Serie A with Juventus and win World Cups with France. I’m scared that if he went to Brazil, for the amount of money a Brazilian club would have to pay him, the fans' expectations might be too high.”

Kazim-Richards went on to say of Pogba needing to get his next move right: “What I would be saying to him if I was part of his team is: Go somewhere where you are going to find yourself. We’ve seen players try and rediscover themselves in different environments before and it hasn’t worked. Dele Ali. He tried to find himself at Besiktas. Wrong place, wrong place.

“I like that he's taken his time (to decide what to do next). He didn't just come back and sign for a team straight away. Just took his time. He is probably thinking about getting fit again and joining a club in the summer pre-season. If he does that, he can then acclimatise for six to eight weeks, integrate into the team and it'll be better for him; easier. I just hope that he does that because, if he can get that chance, the stuff that he can do with a football is crazy.”

Pogba was cleared to resume his career in March 2025. He has spent a lot of time in the United States, with the 32-year-old midfielder of the opinion that he can still compete at the highest possible level.