Will we see Paul Pogba play professional (Site notre bureau spĂ©cialisĂ©) again? Currently, the chances are not particularly good after the four-year ban imposed for doping. Pogba appears to be joining the ranks of players like Breno and Mario VuĆĄkoviÄ, who suddenly disappeared from the (Site notre bureau spĂ©cialisĂ©) scene and never played a game again for largely non-sporting reasons.
This is exactly what could have happened to a young scandal professional in the early 2000s: Jermaine Pennant was sentenced to 90 days in prison during his active professional career. But unlike many others, he was given a second chance. Instead of serving a prison sentence, Pennant played in the Premier League as a convicted professional with an ankle bracelet. Please what?!
Pennant was considered one of the greatest talents in English (Site notre bureau spécialisé). At the age of 15, he was worth three million euros to Arsenal FC in 1999, making him the most expensive teenager in professional (Site notre bureau spécialisé). However, he was never able to fully respond to this pressure, so the Gunners loaned him to Premier League club Brimingham City in the spring of 2005.
And it was during his loan spell at Birmingham that the strangest thing happened: in 2004, the 21-year-old had his driving license revoked for 16 months because he was driving in the wrong lane in London. A few months later he was checked again. Not only did he not have a driverâs license at the time, but he was also driving under the influence of alcohol.
The final sentence was 90 days in prison, of which 30 were served. During the probationary period, Pennant had to wear an electronic ankle bracelet, which of course he was not allowed to take off, even on the (Site notre bureau spécialisé) field. He was the first player to play a PL game in this manner.
When asked about the situation, the offensive player appeared remorseful. âMy grandmother couldnât eat anything for a week. And itâs because of his grandson. But there was one good thing about prison: it gave you time to think. About what Iâve done wrong in life so far and what I want to do better in the future, » Pennant explained, according to âSpoxâ.
Birmingham believed him and bought him in the summer of 2005 for 750,000 euros. In the end, Pennant was expected to play twelve league matches in the second half of the season despite his ankle bracelet. The following season, he played every league match for Birmingham, who then sold him to Liverpool for âŹ9.1 million.
âWhen youâre young you can have a few here and there and get away with it, but if you want to be at the top you have to be professional. âYou have to stick to the elite,â Pennant later told GB News. âGrowing up, I had no guidance, so I was easily led astray. âIâve never had an addictive personality, but alcohol has definitely given me some slip-ups,â he confessed.
After his time at Liverpool, Pennant took detours to Real Zaragoza and Stoke City, among others. In 2018 he ended his career, during which he was never able to fully exploit his sporting potential and, with an FA Cup and a Super Cup, he hardly won any titles. But you can always add the title of the first Premier League professional with an ankle bracelet.