Paul Pogba, French midfielder, World Cup champion in 2018, currently playing on AS Monaco after serving an 18-month ban for doping, has announced a surprising business move far from the football world: he has become shareholder and ambassador for a professional camel racing team, Al Haboob in Saudi Arabia.
Pogba announced it on a video on Instagram, and explained further in an interview on BBC Sport, where he revealed that he became a fan of camel racing watching races on YouTube, spending his time researching to understand the technicques and strategies. "What stood out to me is how much dedication it takes from everyone involved. At the end of the day, sport is sport. It demands heart, sacrifice and teamwork."
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Camel Racing is a popular sport in the Middle East, and countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are trying to establish the world's first professional camel racing league. Al Haboob is the oldest professional camel racing team.
With his investment, Pogba hopes to help the sport grow, attract more international interest and recognition, and joked that, after becoming the world's most expensive footballer when he was bought by Manchester United from Juventus in 2016, "owning the world's most expensive camel one day would be a full circle moment".