ROME, Oct 17, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Paul Pogba is adamant that he wishes to return from his reduced doping ban with Juventus even if it means accepting a pay cut, the French World Cup winner told La Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview Wednesday.

"I'm willing to give up money to be able to play again with Juve, I want to come back with this club," said Pogba in an interview published on the Italian sports daily's website.

"The reality is that I am a Juve player and I am preparing to play for Juve."

Pogba's contract with the Italian giants expires in June 2026 and is currently worth eight million euros ($8.684 million) a year.

During his ongoing suspension, the midfielder receives only the minimum salary stipulated in the Serie A collective agreement -- just over EUR2,000 a month.

However, since Pogba's ban was reduced, Italian press have reported that Juventus are nonetheless seeking to terminate his contract.

"It will be a new Pogba, a hungrier, wiser and stronger one... I just want to play football," added the former Manchester United star.

"I want to be ready to train and play for Juve, I'm a Juve player, in my mind, that's all there is at the moment."

Pogba had his four-year ban for doping reduced to 18 months earlier in October by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and can return to action from March 11 next year, four days before his 32nd birthday.

Pogba tested positive for testosterone in August 2023 after a match between Juventus and Udinese in Italy.

He was provisionally suspended in September of the same year, and then banned for four years by the Italian National Anti-Doping Tribunal the following February.

Pogba's representatives said the testosterone came from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor he consulted in the United States.