The name of Paul Pogba resurfaces with a crash. While the former world champion has just started his preparation with AS Monaco to try to return to the highest level, his case divides. A return to the French team for the 2026 World Cup seems for many a distant dream, a chimera. However, a well-known voice of French football took everyone on the other hand on Monday on RMC. Former international Jérôme Rothen not only said to believe it, but he launched a quantified bet which already agitates the microcosm of the Blues, ensuring that Pogba will return, “even if it is not 100 %”.
Rothen's bet seems all the more daring since Paul Pogba is engaged in a real time-trial race. We must remember the facts: his last match in the tricolor jersey dates back to March 2022. His long suspension for doping ended in March 2025, leaving him without official competition for an eternity. With the declared goal of competing in the 2026 World Cup, the weather is counted. His new preparation with Monaco, started only on June 29, will be a life -size test to assess his ability to find a level of international requirement.
Paul Pogba, three years of absence … and an announced return?
Supporters of a return of “the draw” advance a weight argument: its unique profile. The debate relates to the level it can hope to find. Can a pogba, even 80% of its capacities, still compete? Its defenders recall its statistics of the great era, in particular its ability to break the lines by the pass, and compare them to the profile of current circles such as Aurélien Tchouaméni or Eduardo Camavanga, suggesting that his creator profile remains unequaled and potentially higher, even diminished.
The Pogba resurrection, really credible?
Faced with this optimism, obstacles remain immense and very real, however. The first, and not the least: Paul Pogba has not played any minute in an official match since September 2023. At 32 years old and with a history of injuries, especially in the meniscus, will his body meet the requirements of the very high level? Finally, competition is fierce in the midfield at the Blues, where players like Manu Koné have settled solidly in the project of Didier Deschamps.
Will Monaco be able to put the pick up in time? If Rothen's bet is verified, the 2026 list could reserve the most unlikely resurrection in the Deschamps era.
