Paul Pogba has claimed he was “blocked” from leaving Manchester United – three years before his eventual departure – by former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

The France international, 31, has been cleared to resume training from January and can return to action in March after having his four-year doping ban reduced to 18 months.

Pogba tested positive for the banned substance dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), but the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled he did not intentionally consume the hormone supplement after explaining it had been prescribed to him in the United States.

Speaking to UK media for the first time since the ruling, Pogba explained how “the famous guy” everyone knew before the ban is “no more” after those close to him stopped making contact, and he also considered how different his story could have been had he been allowed to leave Old Trafford in 2019 when he told then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Woodward of his desire to leave.

“I’ll tell you something I’ve never told anyone. The year Jose [Mourinho] went and Ole came, it was my best season at United but after the last game I told Ole and Ed Woodward that I thought it was my last year and that I wanted to leave,” Pogba told the Daily Mail.

“I was 27, it didn’t work out the way I wanted. I gave my best but didn’t see the club going upwards. I wanted to go but I came back for pre-season because I wanted to be professional. I spoke to Ed to make a move but he blocked it. I didn’t want to play for United any more but I had to be professional. Mentally I wasn’t there and then I got the injuries.”

Pogba also insisted he is not a cheater and is now targeting a return to the French national team when his suspension expires in March.

The CAS judgment found Pogba’s ingestion of the banned substance “was not intentional” and was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a doctor in Florida.

‘I am not a cheater’

In a separate interview with Sky Sports, the 2018 World Cup winner reiterated he has always been a clean athlete.

Pogba said: “I mean when you see me, you know me and people know me so even when all the things happened, they were like ‘no, for sure we know Paul, he would never take that. If he did, he didn’t know or it wasn’t on purpose’. And this is totally the truth.

“I am an honest person and I would say it. At the end, I would say it ‘yes I did because I felt like I need it’ and that’s not the case. This is not me. I am not a cheater.

“I am someone who loves my sport, I love the game and I would never ever. I don’t like to cheat. I like to win fairly and people know that. You see it. You see me, I am someone who is a bad loser, but I am not a cheater. That’s for sure.”

While Pogba is still contracted to Juventus until 2026, the 91-cap France international was coy about his club future and fielded various questions about where his next destination could be.

A mutual termination of his contract with the Serie A club could occur, but if not Pogba can return to Juve training in January and is determined to resume his international career.

Asked about playing for France again, Pogba insisted: “That is what I hope. Of course it is in my mind for sure, but I have to be ready for that. There are players there that deserve to play and deserve to be national team.

“I have to win my place also in the national team again. Of course I am ready to fight.”

Pogba also promised to appreciate his profession more after getting a glimpse into life after football and momentarily thinking his career could be over following the initial ban.

“Obviously I don’t want to lose the level I am at and if I can surpass it, this is what I want,” Pogba added.

“I don’t want my level to change. Still the same player with a different hunger and more motivated, more and more hungry and I will for sure appreciate the game more than before because the game [had] been taken away from me and I realise how important it is for me.

“I kind of tasted what life is after the career, so it will definitely be another Paul Pogba. Same but even more motivation to be on the pitch and play until the end of my career.”