Paul Pogba's Monaco experiment may be ending before it ever really started. Both parties are in talks about terminating his contract early, which would make the 33-year-old a free agent and put MLS clubs — specifically DC United and Inter Miami — on high alert.
This isn't a rumor trail. These are structured exit discussions, and the outcome matters beyond just Pogba's next paycheck.
Why Monaco might want out
The club just sacked Sébastien Pocognoli and replaced him with Filipe Luís, a coach who will have his own ideas about how that midfield runs. New manager, new priorities — Pogba may simply not fit the system Luís wants to build. If Monaco are also looking to shed salary, this becomes an easy mutual decision. Free up the wages, move on, no hard feelings.
Pogba's first season in Monaco was heavily disrupted by injury. He returned to professional football in March 2025 after CAS reduced his doping ban from four years to 18 months — a suspension tied to a positive test for DHEA from August 2023. His explanation was that the substance came from a supplement he didn't know was prohibited. Whether you find that convincing or not, the ban is served. He's eligible. And he's still a name that moves the needle.
A thigh injury complicates the MLS picture
Pogba picked up a thigh injury during Monaco's preseason training in England this week, and that changes the calculus for any interested club. Given his injury history, no MLS side is going to commit before they see him fully fit and moving freely. That's not pessimism — it's basic due diligence on a player who has spent more time in treatment rooms than on pitches over the last three years.
DC United and Inter Miami have both been connected to his name before. At 33, with global recognition still intact and a World Cup winner's medal from 2018, Pogba fits exactly what MLS goes after: pedigree, profile, and a backstory. The league has built its identity on veterans like this. Whether he can actually contribute minutes — consistent, meaningful minutes — is the open question.
Monaco has said nothing publicly. The thigh injury needs to resolve. The contract talks need to conclude. Nothing is done. But if both obstacles clear, the MLS door is about as open as it gets.
