Does Paul Pogba have a future at Monaco? Exit rumours addressed after 30 minutes of game time for ex-Man Utd star

Pogba penned a two-year contract with Monaco after being offered a route back into the professional game. They knew that they were acquiring a player that would be short on match fitness and sharpness.

They had to wait until November before handing Pogba his debut. He took in four minutes off the bench that day, with two further cameo appearances as a substitute being made since then. In total, he has seen just 30 minutes of action.

Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro has told talkSPORT of why Pogba was signed and what he could still offer to the collective cause: “Paul, first of all, was about performance. It is about performance, the first step. Paul is a very talented player with a different tier than we are used to having in Ligue 1. He's coming back from two years without playing - We knew that the challenge to bring him back would be high.

“Of course he brings also an impact in terms of visibility to the league, to AS Monaco, commercial revenues, all of this. But as we all know, the player must be on the pitch performing for everything to work well. At the end, we started this process in the summer with a very high expectation.”

Pogba picked up a calf injury on December 13 and has been sidelined ever since, with Monaco taking to dropping him from their Champions League squad before exiting that competition at the knockout play-off stage against domestic rivals Paris Saint-Germain.

Scuro added: “It's costing a lot for him to be able to be consistently on the pitch. He had a few minutes during the season which showed his level, his capacity, and we are still pushing for him to have more time on the pitch at the end of the season.”

Pogba still has a little under 18 months left to run on the deal that he agreed when heading to Stade Louis II. There have, however, been suggestions that said terms could be terminated as Monaco are seeing little return on their investment of faith and funds.

No decision has been made as yet, with Pogba being given the chance to finish the 2025-26 campaign with a flourish and prove that he can recapture the kind of form that once made him the most expensive player on the planet.

Scuro said when asked what the future could hold: “Considering what is going on is a both hands discussion in the summer - if Paul is still willing to keep facing this process, and also on our side, at the right moment, we're going to have this conversation.

“I would say today that both directions can happen by Paul's position or even the club. Now we are focused on giving him the opportunity to be more on the pitch and show that he's still able to play for a few more seasons.”

Pogba was being tipped to make a late play for inclusion in France’s 2026 World Cup squad at one stage, with former Les Bleus star Bacary Sagna telling GOAL: “He is a special player. He can adapt to any kind of demand from the coach.

“Physically, of course, it might be an issue because when you don’t play for so long you are going to get damaged physically and be a bit more sensitive. But he is a special player and those players come up with performances.

“He doesn’t need to run a lot. Mentally and technically he is ahead of the normal. You never know. Every time there is a list, there is always a surprise. He could be the surprise of Didier Deschamps.”

That dream appears to have been dashed, with Pogba needing to focus fully on club matters for now. Monaco could do with getting him back as they have slipped to eighth in the Ligue 1 table - a long way adrift of Champions League qualification spots and with there no guarantees that European football of any kind will be secured for 2026-27.