Monaco drop Pogba from Champions League squad as comeback stalls

Thirty minutes. That’s all Paul Pogba has managed since signing for AS Monaco. Three appearances in Ligue 1. Zero in the Champions League. And now, per L’Équipe, he won’t be getting any — Monaco have removed him from their knockout phase squad entirely.

The former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder will not be available for the round of 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain on February 17 and 25. That particular door is shut.

What Scuro said — and what he didn’t

Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro addressed reporters on Wednesday and, to his credit, did not hide behind corporate language. “Clearly, the rehabilitation program we had in place for him isn’t working as we’d hoped,” he said. “Everyone is continuing to work hard to find solutions for him.”

When pressed on a timeline for Pogba’s return, Scuro offered nothing concrete. “There is no clear answer,” he admitted. The medical staff, he said, remain focused on getting the Frenchman back on the pitch — but the admission that their initial plan has failed carries weight.

Fabrizio Romano confirmed the news on X, quoting Scuro’s comments about the medical focus on “finding solutions” before any return.

The squad decision was partly logistical. Monaco needed to register winter signings Simon Adingra and Wout Faes, and somebody had to make room. Takumi Minamino and Mohammed Salisu — both recovering from ACL injuries — were also removed. Krépin Diatta returns to the list. But nobody is talking about Minamino or Salisu.

The pattern nobody wants to see

According to beIN Sports, citing La Gazzetta dello Sport, the problem isn’t one specific injury. It’s a series of physical issues hitting different parts of Pogba’s body — a pattern that keeps derailing any attempt at consistent training. “Very few players have suffered so many injuries in different areas,” Scuro acknowledged in a separate press conference earlier this month.

For anyone who followed Pogba’s final years at Old Trafford, then the drawn-out saga at Juventus, this feels like a loop. Brief glimpses of availability, followed by setbacks, followed by silence. His last appearance was against Brest in Ligue 1 almost two months ago. He played 14 minutes.

When Pogba signed for Monaco last summer, he spoke with emotion that felt genuine. “There are moments when the devil tells you it’s over, but football is not finished for me,” he said at his unveiling, having just served a doping suspension that cost him nearly two years. Monaco offered a two-year deal through June 2027, designed a tailored recovery program, and gave him what looked like the ideal environment — a mid-table Ligue 1 side with European football but without the suffocating pressure of Manchester or Turin.

What comes next is harder to say

Livefoot reported last week that Monaco are actively seeking an arrangement to end the collaboration by summer. The word “retirement” has surfaced in French media, though nobody at the club has said it publicly. Scuro, for his part, insisted in January that “now is not the time” for that conversation.

Pogba turns 33 in March. His contract runs until 2027, but the numbers tell a brutal story: 30 minutes on the pitch, zero goals, zero assists, and a succession of physical setbacks that the club’s medical staff have openly described as unprecedented in their difficulty.

At some point, resilience stops being inspiring and starts looking like something else. We may be getting close to that point.