Rio Ferdinand has called for Manchester United to give Paul Pogba a chance to revive his football career as his doping ban nears an end. The Frenchman, 31, was handed a four-year suspension – following an initial ban – in March last year, but can now resume playing next month after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reduced his punishment to 18 months. Pogba is currently without a club after Juventus terminated his contract last November, although he is free to train with clubs now.

Ferdinand believes Ruben Amorim should extend an offer for him to train at United, a club where has had two previous spells. On his show Rio Ferdinand Presents, the Red Devils legend said: "I'd say to Pogba, 'Come in and train with us, let me see what you've got'. I'd do that. I would have done that already. Come in and get fit." Ferdinand added: "I'd also have a look [if he's in a position to be re-signed].".

There would be understandable wariness about the idea of Pogba returning to United following his lacklustre second spell at the club, especially considering United forked out £89million to bring him back from Juve after allowing him to leave for free just four years before. Football history is littered with reunions which failed to pan out as hoped, including at United... The long-awaited return of Ronaldo to United soon turned sour after his 2021 homecoming. Despite showing glimpses of his old magic during Ole Gunnar Solkjaer's reign, his second stint saw a bitter exit following a clash with Erik ten Hag and his notorious Piers Morgan interview, which saw him slam both his manager and the club's owners.

Ronaldo, who turned 40 on Wednesday, will always be a United legend, but his messy second departure did no favours for his legacy. Lukaku may not have been everyone's favourite at Old Trafford, but labelling his two-year spell a failure would be unjust. The Belgian striker scored fairly regularly and there was no significant financial loss when he was sold to Inter Milan in 2019. But Chelsea is very much a different story. After struggling for first-team opportunities at Stamford Bridge in his early days, he moved to Everton, where he excelled before his time at United and Inter.

After leading Inter to the Serie A title, Chelsea splashed out £97.5m to bring Lukaku back, only for him to score a mere seven goals in his first season before being loaned back to Inter. Another loan spell at Roma followed before Chelsea managed to recover some of their initial investment when Napoli shelled out £30m for the 31-year-old last summer. Shevchenko is another big Chelsea signing that didn't pan out. The Ukrainian legend arrived from AC Milan, where he is revered, for a British transfer record £31m in 2006.

However, after scoring just nine goals in two seasons, he was loaned back to Milan. It seemed like a sensible move, but Sheva appeared a pale imitation of his former self. He eventually returned to Dynamo Kyiv in his home country to see out the twilight of his illustrious career. Like Shevchenko, Kaka is revered as an AC Milan legend - but this is largely due to his first stint at the club. He led the San Siro club to Champions League victory in 2007 before, like many players of his calibre, transferring to Real Madrid two years later for a record-breaking fee.

He was joined by United's Ronaldo, who outshone the Brazilian. After an underwhelming four-year spell in Madrid, he went back to Milan hoping to recapture his previous form. However, it didn't pan out, and after just a year back in Italy, he left Europe for the sunny climes of Florida and Orlando City. Cole was once hailed as the future of English football after graduating from West Ham's academy, with his playing style drawing comparisons to Paul Gascoigne. Following West Ham's relegation in 2003, he transferred to Chelsea, where he clinched three Premier League titles.

Sadly, injuries began to plague his career and his time at Liverpool and Lille was less than impressive. In 2012, he made a heartfelt return to West Ham, but the clear affection between him and the club didn't translate into on-field success. His second stint at Upton Park was short-lived, lasting only 18 months before he moved on to Aston Villa and Coventry, rounding off a career that never quite lived up to its promise.

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